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Main Street is Thomasville’s main attraction

By Mark Lastinger

THOMASVILLE — At first glance, downtown Thomasville appears to be a place that time forgot. Many of its storefronts look the way they did in the late 1880s.
The well-preserved landscape is no accident. It is the product of a well-crafted plan devised by city leaders from the public and private sectors to lure people to an eclectic mix of shops that is the area’s economic hub.

“Downtown Thomasville continues to flourish,” Main Street director Sharlene Celaya said. “It’s a real plus for us.”
Celaya has been at the helm of Main Street in Thomasville for 14 of its 21 years. Main Street is a National Trust for Historic Preservation program designed to boost traditional commercial areas.

“Main Street is a program that doesn’t end,” Celaya said. “You don’t just fix things and leave. It’s an ongoing management process.”

In its early years, Main Street Thomasville’s attention was focused on improving downtown buildings.

“When you first start a Main Street program, you have to do something to get the attention of the people,” Celaya said. “Through a facade grant program funded by the City of Thomasville, we started to remove the metal and go back to the old storefronts. That stimulated people to return to the downtown area.”

She added, “Main Street is definitely about economic development now.”

Prospective business owners often visit Celaya to discuss the city’s needs. “Main Street is the conduit that brings people together for the benefit of Thomasville.”

The organization also promotes nearby attractions with deep historical roots. Many of the 71 plantations in the South Georgia/North Florida area are in Thomas County, including Pebble Hill.

Featuring a home established in the 1820s by the founder of Thomas County, Pebble Hill is the only plantation that is open to the public without reservations.

“People come here wanting to see this,” Pebble Hill Director Wallace Goodman said. “It’s such a unique place that it’s almost sensory overload.”

Pebble Hill and other plantations like nearby Melhana offer unique peeks into Thomasville’s past. Their main houses, kennels and stables are virtually unmarked by time.
Thomasville’s dependence on cotton and other crops grown on plantations has waned considerably since the late 1800s.

Despite the economic evolution, interest in the area’s plantations remains high. The word is definitely out that Thomasville and its nearby attractions are doing an effective job of banking on their pasts.

“Downtown Thomasville doesn’t stand alone,” Celaya said. “The cohesiveness of all of us pulling together and marketing our town as a great place to visit and a great place to live is the key. We have the qualities people are looking for.”