Southern Hospitality in Thomasville, Georgia

By: John Pelley

Leave the cold and snow of the North for Thomasville, Georgia (no relation to the furniture company). Nestled in the Southwest corner of the state over fifty mansions recall earlier days when people escaped to warmer climates.

One particular gentleman was Charles Lapham, a wealthy shoe merchant who survived the Chicago Fire by hiding in a closet. In 1885, suffering from persistent lung problems, he chose to build a winter house in the warm climate and therapeutic pine scented air of Thomasville. What a marvelously imaginative house he created.

Now known as the Lapham-Patterson house, the exterior looks like a Victorian story book house, with wrap-around porches, tall windows, fish scale shingles, oriental influenced porch decorations, and painted in a vivid yellow.

Incorporated into the house are many novel fire safety features. Every room on the three level house has an escape door or window, which leads outside to a balcony for evacuation. The windows are tall and recess into the ceilings for an easy escape through them.

None of the rooms have any right angles and all of the windows and doors are of different heights. Mr. Lapham's show piece is the dining room, which sits twenty-four at the table. The floor, walls and ceiling are of Southern Pine, a very sturdy hardwood. A fireplace is the focal point of the room. Because of his fear of fire, he had two flues put in the fireplace (most house fires started in the chimney flues). The stairway to the upper floors went behind the fireplace, between the double-flue onto a cantilevered balcony and finally to the upper floors: an amazing piece of Victorian craftsmanship.

These are just some of the ingenious features in the house. Hourly guided tours are given of this National Historical Site for only $4.00. This is just one of Thomasville's treasures.

Also in the downtown area stands the oldest live oak tree East of the Mississippi River. Over 300 years old its stately branches stretch across the intersection. They are held up by guy wires. Be careful when crossing under the limbs. The clearance is only nine feet on the streets and less on the sidewalk.

Five miles South of Thomasville is the Pebble Hill Plantation, a "winter cottage" of over forty rooms sitting on three thousand acres. The family, especially the women were avid outdoors people, competing in horse competitions: both racing and show jumping. They raced only in Europe, because the races are held on turf, not dirt.

The house, built in the 1920s with later additions, is over one hundred yards in length, complete with a full basement. The owners were collectors, especially of Audubon prints, horse sculptures and paintings. According to the docent, the basement is full of boxes with artifacts the ladies brought over from Europe.

When in residence, the family invited distinguished guests to stay for week long stays. They believed that no one should eat off of the same china more than once. So the family employed a butler whose sole duty was to rotate the more than 120 different patterned china place settings.

The grounds themselves are very extensive with stables, dairy barn, laundry, school, and kennels: everything imaginable to keep the estate running. Huge live oaks, magnificent magnolias, and sculptured gardens grace the grounds. The plantation is now in the hands of a foundation, the descendents of the owners sitting on the board of directors. Guided tours are available for the house for $7.00 per person.

A short drive South is Tallahassee, Florida, its capital city. Perhaps you might find a chad hanging around.

About the Author

John Pelley is a Geriatric Gypsy. He is retired from the rat race of working. He is a full-time RVer, who ran away from home. He began our travels on the East Coast and, like the migrating birds, seek the warmth of the seasons He has discovered volunteering with the National Park System. He has a CD he has recorded of Native American flute music., A Day with Kokopelli. For pictures, links, and more information visit http://www.jmpelley.org.

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