Thomasville Landmarks dedicated its Preservation Honor Awards to the life and legacy of Judge Roy M. Lilly Jr. who chaired Landmarks’ Preservation Honor Awards for many years.

Lilly began his career in the law firm of Alexander, Vann, and Lilly where he guided the Commercial Bank in establishing the bank’s Trust Department. Following his tenure at Alexander, Vann, and Lilly, he briefly joined the firm of Altman and Lane. He then opened a solo practice.

Judge Lilly served the Magistrate Court for many years, earning the respect of colleagues and those serving in law enforcement. Judge Lilly was a student of history, and in 1974 became Landmarks’ first president, informing and guiding the organization’s early years.

The Award of Merit went to 120 E. Jackson Street, the former home of The Wright Group. The present owners, have transformed the building from office space to a locale for fine furnishings. In this rehabilitation, the building’s interior open space, and original ceiling height have been maintained. Work was initiated in March 2021 and completed in April. 

A Special Award of Merit was given to Thomasville National Bank for the design and construction of TNB’s Operations Building Addition. Constructed from December 2020, through September 2021 at a cost of $1.2 million, the operations addition enhances Broad and Madison streets with inspired classical design and detailed landscaping. 

Prior to 2001, this section of Broad featured a business dedicated to car repair and auto servicing. Once acquired by TNB, the existing building was demolished resulting in construction of the TNB addition. 

The Award of Stewardship went to 515 E. Washington Street. Constructed circa 1915, the Pardee House was designed in the New South Cottage style and is located at 515 E. Washington Street within the Mallette Heights locally designated historic district. Purchased by Sharon R. Kindred in early 2020, her rehabilitation program focused upon returning the front porch to its original appearance. Work items included rebuilding the façade soffit and replacing the house’s current rounded porch columns with square wood-frame columns based on the dwelling’s original design. 

A Special Award of Merit was given to 109 S. Broad Street, which was constructed circa 1886. In the late 19th century, the building was occupied by Isadora Popper’s Wine and Liquor Store, later becoming home to Thomasville National Bank. Through the years, the building operated as a women’s boutique and in the early 1990s, was home to Mary Ann’s Needlework Shop. 

In rehabilitating the space, owner Ben McCollum took great care to maintain the building’s open plan, to retain original windows, doors, and woodwork, ensuring the building’s continued architectural prominence along South Broad Street. 

In 2021, Landmarks is recognizing three projects whose efforts incorporated modern enhancements in individual rehabilitation programs. Recipients include the Ammie B. Cochran House, AMB Professional Group, and the 1915 South Corporate Campus.

Constructed circa 1896, the Ammie B. Cochran House is located at 317 N. Crawford Street. And for Patricia Payne, it was love at first sight. 

During her first hour in Thomasville, she visited the Big Oak with an elderly parent who had lived in Thomasville as a boy. Explaining that the untended residence, located two doors from the much-visited tree, simply took her breath, stirring a long-buried desire to live in a historic house within walkable distance to a historic downtown. 

The rehabilitation program included a new roof, framing out the interior shell, and retaining the house’s original doors, windows, and mantels where those elements remained. All rooms required framing and new finishes. Cabinetry, baths, and the installation of HVAC, plumbing, and an electrical system were required throughout. 

Madison Investment Partners LLC, owners of 119 S. Madison St.,  pursued transformation of three contiguous Madison Street buildings into a cohesive unit. 

Work began in November 2019 and was completed in December 2020. Examination of early Sanborn maps reveals uses for these buildings varied through the years — from storage for horse drawn carriages, to housing a hay and feed store, to functioning as a grocery store, and finally as a site for antique retail. 

In creating a unified façade, the three individual buildings borrowed elements from AMB’s adjacent office with great care given to the choice of color, size, and configuration of the building’s brick and mortar joints. A matching pair of salvaged six-panel early 20th century doors were located and anchor the building’s front entrance. A restored, single Eastlake door highlighted with colored stained glass was installed on the building southern elevation. 

Also honored was the 1915 South Corporate Campus for the relocation and rehabilitation of Milestone Plantation’s overflow guest cottage. Constructed circa 1938 for Mr. and Mrs. George M. Humphrey by Cleveland architect Edward G. Reed, the overflow cottage was part of the estate’s overall design whose component parts included a main house, two guest houses and garage/office building. 

Notably, the Humphreys were personal friends of Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower, who frequently visited Milestone. Following a heart attack occurring in 1955, then President Eisenhower convalesced at Milestone, determining he would run for a second term in office. It is believed the overflow cottage housed the president’s Secret Service detail during Eisenhower’s time at Milestone. 

With Charles Olson of Edwards Olson Architects leading the rehabilitation program, Russell Turner purchased the overflow cottage from Milestone’s current owner Kathleen Vignos, moving the structure to West Jackson Street’s 1915 South Corporate Campus. Original floors, pecky cypress walls, ceilings, windows, doors, and decorative hardware were retained. 

On the interior, a 1970s dropped ceiling was removed to reveal the cottage’s original vaulted, pecky cypress ceiling. As the cottage’s original porches were removed to allow building relocation, a new porch, replicating the original, was designed and constructed. Prior to removal to West Jackson Street, three exterior chimneys were removed with each stack subsequently rebuilt duplicating the weeping mortar used in the chimneys’ original construction. 

An Achievement Award for a Contributing Addition to the Community was given to the new Courtyard by Marriott.

The corner of Dawson and Remington Streets has long been a transition point separating Thomasville’s residential and commercial districts. Once the location of T.C. Mitchell’s stately home, this prominent residence was demolished in 1966 with construction of the Clarks Department Store, and later Roses, resulting in 1968. 

The Courtyard by Marriott is the first major lodging center in more than a century to be constructed in Thomasville’s downtown area. In designing the site, ownership pledged the hotel’s image would reflect the heritage of the neighborhoods in which it is sited – a key location at the intersection of four nationally and two locally designated historic districts. 

The hotel’s entry is strategically oriented toward the intersection of Dawson and Remington with sidewalks converging into a large plaza anchored by a memorial fountain. Unique to this project, a breezeway runs through the hotel welcoming guests to the courtyard, the event lawns, and other hotel amenities.

Award of Outstanding Achievement was given to John and Lois Hand and Meme and Logan Greitzer for excellence in the rehabilitation and continued traditional use of The Forbes Cottage.

According to written evidence found on boards uncovered during the current restoration, the Forbes Cottage was constructed by contractor William Miller in the summer of 1894 for owner George Wood Forbes. In time, Forbes would marry Gem Vaughan, an educator who until the 1960s, taught kindergarten and music lessons from the cottage. Following her death, the house was divided into four apartments before returning the house to single-family ownership in the 1980s. In 1997, the house was purchased by the Hand family who proposed building restoration.  

When the house was converted for apartment use, several interior doorways were enclosed, with many rooms converted to bathroom, kitchen, and closet space. The front door’s original stained-glass window was replaced with safety glass with many of the house’s remaining stained glass damaged beyond repair. The house suffered three fires, with the third charring the master bedroom and adjacent bath. 

In restoring the cottage, every effort has been made to use original materials or materials appropriate to the period. The fish-scale shingle and stick frame façade has been repaired and repainted in the same colors used by the building’s original owners. Doorways that were once enclosed have been reopened and walls used to divide the house into apartments have been removed.

Landmarks’ Annual Membership Picnic was conducted at Rollalong, the gracious home of Randy and Marilynn Rhea.

Rollalong is counted among Thomas County’s most important historic homes with its classical aesthetic determined by 4four of Thomasville’s most celebrated architects — Richard Brantley, William Frank McCall, Jr., Allen Shumake, and Charles Olson. 

With deep appreciation for the Rhea’s generous hospitality, the Landmarks board of directors presented a Landmarks’ plaque honoring historic Rollalong House to Randy and Marilynn Rhea.