Thomasville, Georgia, United States

🇺🇸 Thomasville is the county seat of Thomas County, Georgia, United States. It is the second largest city in south-west Georgia after Albany.

The city deems itself the "City of Roses" and holds an annual Rose Festival. The city features plantations open to the public, a historic downtown, a large farmer's market, and an oak tree from about 1680 at the corner of Monroe and Crawford streets.

History Thomasville was founded in 1825 as seat of the newly formed Thomas County. It was incorporated as a town in 1831 and as a city in 1889. The community was named for Jett Thomas, a general in the War of 1812.

Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 14.9 square miles (39 km²), of which 14.9 square miles (39 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km²) (0.40%) is water. It is the second largest city in Southwest Georgia after Albany. The city has three U.S. Routes: 19, 84 and 319. It is located 34 miles north-east of Tallahassee, Florida, 28 miles south-west of Moultrie, 43 miles west of Valdosta, 95 miles east of Dothan, Alabama, 59 miles south of Albany and 22 miles north of Monticello, Florida.

Economy The bakery company Flowers Foods is based in Thomasville. Senior Life Insurance Company and Archbold Medical Center are also based in Thomasville.

Arts and culture Thomasville plants and maintains more than 1,000 roses located throughout the city, as do a number of residents who have their own rose gardens. During the last week of April, rose growers from all over the world display their prize roses for a panel of judges. The Thomasville Rose Garden at Cherokee Lake Park is the largest of 85 rose beds maintained by the city, and is host to the annual rose festival.

Thomasville is home to several historic and cultural organizations, including the Thomas County Historical Society and Museum of History, Thomasville Landmarks, Inc. the Thomasville Center for the Arts, the Jack Hadley Black History Museum, and Pebble Hill Plantation. Daily tours and research hours are available at each institution.

An Annual MLK (Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.) Walk and Festival is held there in January of each year since 2009.

Education Thomasville City School District The Thomasville City School District serves pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of three elementary schools, a middle school, and a high school, Thomasville High School. The district has 204 full-time teachers and over 3,107 students.

Thomas County School District The Thomas County School District serves pre-school to grade twelve, and consists of three elementary schools, a middle school, and two high schools, Thomas County Central High School and Bishop Hall Charter School. The district has 329 full-time teachers and over 5,466 students.

Private schools • Thomasville Christian School (Pre-K - 9) • Brookwood School (Pre-K-12) Independent college preparatory school.

Education: University • Thomas University - Main Campus • Southern Regional Technical College - Main Campus

Media: Print • The Thomasville Times-Enterprise is a daily newspaper owned by Community Newspaper Holdings, CNHI. The newspaper publishes the glossy magazine Thomasville Scene.

Media: Radio • WPAX 1240 AM • WHGH • WSTT

Infrastructure The city has installed a fiber optic network, known as CNS, which provides affordable, high speed Internet access. The city's network has been in place since 1999. The city transfers excess revenues from CNS services and from its other utilities to the city's general fund to pay for police and fire protection, street maintenance, and other essential services. In 2012, because of these revenues, the city was able to eliminate property fire tax for its residents and businesses.[