Thomasville is 11 miles south of Ochlocknee and 62 miles south of Albany and is the southern base of the Historic Dixie Highway Scenic Byway. As the terminus for the railroad during the late 1800s, Thomasville was accessible from the northern cities and was known as the “Winter Resort of the South.” In the beginning of this era, Northerners and other visitors came to Thomasville for their health, breathing the pine scented air as a curative for pulmonary ailments. They were soon joined by friends to enjoy hunting, fishing, and an active social life, including golf, horse racing, and bicycling. Thomasville came to represent the best of Southern hospitality with lavishness of the resort lifestyle. Thomasville’s luxurious hotels regularly hosted America’s wealthiest families as their guests.

Once discovered that it cost less to purchase land than rent hotel rooms, these wealthy families bought property and built grand Victorian mansions and plantation homes. Many of these plantations are still owned by the families who built them and are visited year round. Many of the “winter cottages” built during the 1880s have been lovingly restored and are included on the Historic Walking and Driving Tour of Thomasville’s Historic Districts.

Although the grand hotel era ended with the extension of the railroad into southern Florida, Thomasville and Thomas County have continued the long-standing tradition of cultural and economic diversity and the preservation of the area’s rich heritage. Thomasville is known as the “City of Roses”. Where roses reign, the people are friendly and traffic jams are unheard of. Today, a visit to Thomasville might include museum tours, diverse, eclectic shopping in the historic downtown, a walking/driving tour of historic homes, and a grand plantation tour. You don’t want to miss having your photo taken beside the majestic Big Oak and of course you must stop to smell the roses at our Rose Garden located beside the banks of Cherokee Lake.