THOMASVILLE- The John Lee of Nansemond Chapter, National Society Colonial Dames Seventeenth Century, was honored to place a bronze plaque on the historic O. C. Ewart Bowling Alley located on the grounds of the Thomasville History Center, 725 North Dawson Street, Thomasville, Georgia.

The bowling alley has the distinction of being the oldest extant, single lane, free-standing bowling alley in the United States, having been built in 1896, and remains the same today in appearance and location, 128 years later.

Oliver C. Ewart, a banker and native of Ohio, visited Thomasville in 1892, along with his wife, Eliza, and son, Robert. They stayed at the Masury Hotel and then moved to the Piney Woods Hotel. In 1893, Ewart purchased the 725 North Dawson Street lot and hired architect William Miller to build a three story Queen Anne mansion on the property. The Ewarts returned to Thomasville in the fall of 1895 to their completed mansion. The Thomasville Times-Enterprise mentioned in an article in 1896, that Ewart was building a ten-pin bowling alley and billiard room behind the house. The property was put up for sale in 1898, and the bowling alley was described as a bowling alley, gymnasium, shooting gallery, and billiards room. The property sold March 25, 1900, to Julia Wymen Donner, widow of John Otto Donner, a New Jersey sugar magnate.

Joseph Hampton Flowers bought the property in 1909. The mansion burned in 1923, and the Flowers family lived in the bowling alley until the current brick building, now the home of the History Center, was completed.

Fritz and Mildred Roberts purchased the property in 1939. In 1962, the property was given to the Thomas County Historical Society, Inc., which had been established in 1952. In 1972, the society opened the doors of the Thomas County Museum of History at 725 North Dawson Street.

The John Lee of Nansemond Chapter members conducted the impressive marking ceremony on the front lawn of the O. C. Ewart Bowling Alley. Vice President Kathy S. Mills welcomed the members and guests to the ceremony. Anne McCudden, Executive Director of the History Center gave the history of the bowling alley.

Honored guests at the marking were Sheryll Taylor Miles, Honorary State President of the Georgia Society Colonial Dames Seventeenth Century, and Dr. Martelia Cunningham, Corresponding Secretary, Georgia Society Colonial Dames Seventeenth Century. Some members of the History Center Board of Directors were present, along with a representative of the Board of Directors of the Jack Hadley Black History Museum. The History Center staff was also in attendance.

To close out the ceremony, Robert H. Parrish, Jr., a member of Thigpen Trail Chapter, Sons of American Revolution, and also the National Society of the Sons and Daughters of the Pilgrims, Georgia Branch, led the assembly in singing “God Bless America” followed by the benediction given by John Lee of Nansemond Chapter President, Jinanne B. Parrish.

Following the marking ceremony and tours of the bowling alley, the group had lunch in a private dining room at The Plaza Restaurant in downtown Thomasville.