Thomasville: Central Business District

Founded in 1888, Thomasville was in its infancy when a major fire in 1899 destroyed the town’s first business district. The fire destroyed the entire downtown area, burning 23 businesses and the postmaster’s residence. Because most of the businesses destroyed were hastily constructed wooden buildings, the town council passed an ordinance stipulating that only brick buildings could be built downtown. Many of these buildings remain today in the Thomasville Historic District, which features examples of early commercial, Queen Anne, Colonial-Revival, Bungalow/Craftsman and regional vernacular architecture.

Photo credit: Brittany Faush-Johnson, Alabama News Center