Southern Belle Magazine May 2013, Issue 1 | Page 37

Destination Spotlight : Thomasville , AL

By Becca Horne
Thomasville , Alabama is somewhat of an enigma among small towns . It is about 100 miles from most anywhere - lying roughly that distance north of Mobile , south of Tuscaloosa and west of Montgomery - as the locals are fond of joking . It has a population of 5,000 , but a trade area of more than 80,000 due in large part to the perception of being in the middle of nowhere . The community also has a strong school system with good test scores and little problems with discipline - adding to the overall quality of life .
Thomasville is not a town with houses of antebellum vintage that are found in comparable towns not far away . The original town was at a place called Choctaw Corner , so named because of a popular game between the Creek and Choctaw Indian Tribes . The exact location of Thomasville lies within the watershed of the Alabama and the Tombigbee rivers . As history tells it , the Creeks lived on the Alabama River side and the Choctaws on the Tombigbee side of the area . There was a small piece of land that was claimed by both tribes . To settle the dispute over its ownership , the men of the tribes battled , not with weapons , but in a stickball game . It ended in a tie . To settle the matter once and for all , tribal women played another round . The Choctaws won , hence , it became Choctaw Corner .
Thomasville came into its own when the railroad passed through . In fact , the town moved more than three miles to be next to the railroad . Some historic structures were moved on log poles and wagons over to the new town , but , for the most part , Thomasville just sprouted up next to the railroad . Local residents joke that their community has always been opportunistic . An example of this was when General Samuel Thomas , an official with the railroad , offered the town $ 500 to build a school if they would name the location after him . They cheerfully agreed
Thomasville ’ s bank failed not once , but twice during the depression . Beloved local author and National Public Radio contributor Kathryn Tucker Windham ’ s father was president of the bank . In her book , “ A Serigamy of Stories ,” she tells that story – during the time when she was in high school . As the story goes , she went with the local school band to Mardi Gras in Mobile , and when she returned , her father asked her how much money she had brought home . She emptied her pockets . As she put the change on the table , he told her , “ the bank has failed and this is all the money we have in the world .” Another bank was organized in the same location , and failed in 1951 . A new bank was formed immediately , but in a different location , and exists today with 14 branches in the state .