Boston takes pride in its small downtown and most of the storefronts are in great condition and home to modern businesses.
Boston Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Historic Storefronts, Boston
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Warehouse Office, Boston
I’m not sure what the original use of this corner entrance structure was, but I remember there being a sign near the back section for Boston Feed & Seed at one time. I think it was probably an office for the warehouses located along the street behind it. Like many of the buildings in downtown Boston, it likely dates to the early 20th century.
Boston Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Garage + Ford Dealership, Circa 1920s, Boston
When this commercial garage was built, Jefferson Street (also known as the Old Boston Road) was the first east-west paved highway in southwest Georgia. It later became US Highway 84. This was the era when automobiles were first becoming widespread and entrepreneurs were first establishing businesses to serve this new mode of transportation. It has also been suggested that this building later served as a Ford dealership.
Boston Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Commercial Block, Boston
This historic Victorian storefront is one of the nicest still standing in downtown Boston. I imagine it housed several businesses in its early days and has been home to many more since. It was likely built around 1900-1910.
Boston Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Dillon Road Presbyterian Church, Circa 1900, Thomas County
This beautiful country church stands among some of Thomas County’s most idyllic farmland, surrounded by pecan trees. It’s northeast of Thomasville. I’ve only been able to locate an approximate date of construction (1900) for the church, and can locate nothing about the congregation. The earliest burial I could find in the small attached cemetery was in the early 1930s. Whatever the history, I’m glad to be able to share this landmark.
Queen Anne House, Circa 1886, Thomasville
This home may not be as grand or ornate as the Lapham-Patterson House, but it’s certainly an eclectic Queen Anne, one of the most unusual I’ve encountered. And it’s definitely worth a drive down Clay Street to see it. The central turret, or tower, is its most prominent feature, while the unusual floor plan is also notable. I hope to update with a name at some point.
Dawson Street Residential Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
The Old Cemetery, Circa 1842, Thomasville
Thomasville’s Old Cemetery dates to at least 1842, based on burial dates, and is a microcosm of 19th century funerary art, ranging from exceptional vernacular memorials to grand marble obelisks and monuments. It is said to be the oldest cemetery in Thomas County, incorrectly, but it may be the oldest in Thomasville proper. The deed conveying the cemetery to the city of Thomasville is dated 1858. Nearly 40 Confederate veterans, some in unmarked graves, are buried here, as well.
Isaac Mitchell was a prominent planter and large slaveholder in the area. In 1838, he sold a thousand-acre plantation with two miles of shoreline on Lake Iamonia, near Tallahassee. He died during the Civil War, and his son, who served in Co. F, 29th Georgia Regiment, died a few years later. Their monument, featuring ruined columns topped with wreaths, is one of the finest in the cemetery.
This beautiful Victorian monument is a bit of a mystery. I couldn’t find a name on it, but there’s an adjacent government-issued marker for Sgt. James A. McLendon, who served in Co. F., 50th Georgia Infantry.
The gate decoration here was a common design. There’s a very similar example at the Isaac Joseph House in Columbus. The name on that gate appears to be the name of the maker, so I wonder if this is not the maker’s name, as well. I’ve only been able to discern that it’s either Branner or Brannem, neither of which I find in the burial list for the Old Cemetery. Another mystery, at least for now.
This is one of two or three seashell graves in the Old Cemetery, this one being in the best state of preservation. In fact, it’s one of the nicest I’ve seen. There is a government-issued memorial at the foot of the grave that notes Captain Henderson served with Co. F, 29th Georgia Infantry.
This table grave is an interesting mix of vernacular and formal funerary art. The handmade bricks, likely made by enslaved laborers, are topped by a professionally made marble slab. The girls were both very young, and since they died around the same time, were likely afflicted with the same illness.
There are numerous brick crypts and slabs in the Old Cemetery.
Most of these are unidentified, and therefore I’m just showing them for the skill and craft involved in their production.
Some of the brick in the memorials appears to be handmade, and I would guess that some were made by enslaved people.
The gravestone below is made of slate, an uncommon material in Georgia. I’ve rarely found such memorials away from the coast.
The Seixas family were Thomas County pioneers. The Seixas House, circa 1835, is thought to be the oldest one-story house in Thomasville.
The gazebo is a prominent landmark in the Old Cemetery.
Southern Trim and Glass Company, Thomasville
I don’t know if this place is still open, but it’s the kind of business every town used to have, which did automotive upholstery and custom glass work. It appears to have originated as a mid-century (1940s-circa 1960) commercial garage and possibly was also a filling station. I just like the sign and the building.
First Missionary Baptist Church, 1900, Thomasville
Enslaved people who had previously attended Baptist services with their White enslavers in Thomasville began holding separate services at the First Baptist Church in 1853. In 1866, they established the First African Baptist Church. The first pastor, Rev. Jacob Wade, served from the establishment until his death in 1877.
The present church building was completed in 1900. The congregation continued its association with the African Baptist Church until 1964, when they reorganized as First Missionary Baptist Church.
The church was granted $155,000 in 2024 from the National Trust for Historic Preservation for future efforts to preserve the property.
Dawson Street Residential Historic District, National Register of Historic Places
Flipper Cemetery, Thomasville
This cemetery, now commonly referred to as the Flipper Cemetery, is one of the oldest municipal burial grounds for African-Americans in Thomasville. Also known as the old Magnolia Cemetery, it’s distinguished by methodical plantings of oaks and other shade trees and is a well-maintained historical resource.
Significantly, it’s the final resting place of Lt. Henry Ossian Flipper, the first Black graduate of West Point. Lt. Flipper died in Atlanta in 1940 and was buried in South View Cemetery. In February 1978, his remains were exhumed and he was re-interred in his hometown.
But it is also important for the numerous other prominent Black citizens of 19th-century Thomasville, including Rev. Jacob Wade, the first pastor of the African Baptist Church. Additionally, there are a few important vernacular monuments present, most importantly the three crosses and the Ruis obelisk. There are also quite a few typical Victorian and early-20th century memorials.
The birth and death dates are unknown, and with Dall Mitchell and Benetta Lowry, the names are not certain. Those two crosses have been repaired and it’s possible that information was lost. They are quite unusual and vernacular landmarks.
This shows the loss of part of the letters from the original monument, which was obviously taller than it is in its present configuration, and the challenge of identification.
The Ruis-Wiggs obelisk is a concrete vernacular copy of other monuments common at the time, usually accomplished in marble or granite.
Margaret and Mattie Ruis (1859 or 1869-1911) are memorialized on the obelisk, as well as Shep W. Wiggs (birth and death dates indiscernible).
There are numerous brick grave markers like the one seen above. Most do not identify the decedent and therefore present a great challenge for identification.
This is one of several damaged memorials in Flipper Cemetery that have been repaired.
The presence of so many manufactured headstones in a Black cemetery of this era is an indication of a thriving and growing Black middle class.
It appears, considering all the broken memorials, that the cemetery was once very poorly maintained, but thankfully, someone took the time and care to repair nearly all of the damaged stones.
Also buried within the family plot, along with Lt. Henry O. Flipper, are his parents, J. Festus Flipper (1832-12 December 1918) and Isabella Buckhalter Flipper (1837-21 August 1887).