Historic home tour in Thomasville taking place next month

THOMASVILLE — More than 40 historic homes and sites will be open for tours during the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation’s Spring Ramble in Thomasville taking place April 12-14.

Co-hosted by Thomasville Landmarks, the event will offer visitors and residents an opportunity to explore private historic homes and buildings not usually open to the public.

“We are thrilled that so many preservation minded individuals from across the state will be visiting our very special town,” Ramble Committee Chair Stephane Ughetto said. “I am certain that they will be back many times to patronize our downtown shops and restaurants.”

“Ramblers” will have the opportunity on April 12 to explore restored historic houses including the Dawes House, an Asian-inspired Craftsman bungalow; the Stinson House, a vernacular Italianate house saved by Thomasville Landmarks’ revolving fund; and the Spence House that received Thomasville Landmarks’ Award of Outstanding Achievement for rehabilitation in 2006.

Also on Friday’s tour is the Myers House, which was revitalized through Thomasville Landmarks’ Operation C.A.R.E., a program started in 1997 to help historic homeowners who have fixed or limited incomes to repair and rehabilitate their homes.

After Friday’s ramble, the Georgia Trust will host the 42nd annual Preservation Awards at Thomasville First United Methodist Church, where the state’s top preservationists and projects will be recognized.

“It is a privilege to be working with the Georgia Trust to bring a Ramble to Thomasville for the first time in nearly 15 years,” Thomasville Landmarks Executive Director Mary Lawrence Lang said. “This is a tremendous opportunity to show off our community to a captive audience of architecture and history enthusiasts that value the authenticity and distinct historic character that Thomasville is famous for.”

Officials in charge of the weekend’s festivities said guests will spend April 13 enjoying more of Thomasville, rambling along the most prominent streets in town and discovering a mixture of high style and vernacular architecture in the city’s National Register districts. The tour includes Greenwood Plantation, a Greek-Revival masterpiece that served as a refuge for Jacqueline Kennedy following the death of President John F. Kennedy — the interior of which remains charred after being ravaged by fire in 1993 just after the completion of a full redecoration by society decorator, Sister Parrish; the Stephens-Butler House, a home that was notably owned by Baron Vicco von Stralendorff and his wife, who received the cottage as a wedding gift in the 1870s; and the Scott-Beverly House, a Georgian Revival home inspired by 18th century James River plantations of Virginia.

Attendees will wrap up the ramble weekend on April 14 by exploring Pebble Hill Plantation’s 76-acre grounds including the 1936 main house designed by Abram Garfield, with its art collection and antiques. Guests will tour the village of Neoclassical Revival outbuildings including the log cabin school, fire engine house and stable complex as well as restored gardens featuring a reflection pool, sundial and a hedge maze dating to 1935.

The ramble also includes special dining experiences held at historic sites throughout the weekend. On Friday night, attendees will have cocktails and dinner at Osceola, an 840-acre plantation owned by the family of Marguerite Williams, a founding trustee of the Georgia Trust.

Officials said breakfast will take place Saturday at Thomasville Center for the Arts, followed by a brief historical orientation of Thomasville and the Georgia’s Trust’s annual meeting. Lunch will be in downtown Thomasville, where ‘ramblers’ can choose from a variety of eateries.

Guests will dine Saturday evening at the Glen Arven Country Club, one of the oldest clubs in America and whose golf course was a favorite of President Dwight D. Eisenhower. On Sunday, guests will eat brunch at the Sugar Hill Barn, located on the grounds of Pebble Hill Plantation.

A wide variety of registration options are available. For more information, visit www.georgiatrust.org. Proceeds benefit the Georgia Trust and Thomasville Landmarks.

Rambles feature tours and social events in historic properties that are self-guided. Guests provide their own transportation. These trips attract hundreds of participants per ramble and are offered two weekends each year in the fall and spring — and have included Athens, Savannah and the Golden Isles.

Founded in 1973, the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation works for the preservation and revitalization of Georgia’s diverse historic resources and advocates for appreciation, protection and use. It generates community revitalization by finding buyers for endangered properties acquired by its revolving fund and raises awareness of other endangered historic resources through an annual listing of Georgia’s “Places in Peril.”

The trust recognizes preservation projects and individuals with its annual Preservation Awards and awards students and young professionals with academic scholarships, the Neel Reid Prize and Liz Lyon Fellowship. It offers educational programs for adults and children, provides technical assistance to property owners and historic communities, advocates for funding, tax incentives and other laws aiding preservation efforts and manages two house museums — Rhodes Hall in Atlanta and Hay House in Macon. To learn more, visit www.georgiatrust.org.

Since 1966 Thomasville Landmarks’ mission to preserve, protect and advance the architecture, landscape and history unique to Thomas County. The Landmarks’ three program areas are Neighborhood Revitalization, Operation C.A.R.E and Education and Outreach. To learn more, visit www.thomasvillelandmarks.org.

Jennifer Parks