Another list of the best — and another appearance by Thomasville.

Southern Living magazine recently ranked the best 20 Southern small towns for 2020 and Thomasville came in eighth place. It was the highest ranking for any Georgia location.

Number one overall was Williamsburg, Virginia, noted for its Colonial heritage and charm. Beaufort, South Carolina, was No. 2 and just ahead of Thomasville was Beaufort, North Carolina. (It’s pronounced byoo-fert in South Carolina and bo-fort in North Carolina). 

Three of the towns ranked ahead of Thomasville, both Beauforts and Fairhope, Alabama, are on the water. 

As Southern Living notes, “The charming cobblestone Main Street, lined with one-of-a-kind boutiques and eateries, is Thomasville’s calling card. Its downtown is filled with historic homes and oak-canopied streets. At Elizabeth Ireland Poe Park, see ‘The Big Oak,’ a Southern live oak with a 165-foot limb span. While you’re there, have your picture made at the Big Oak Cam.”

Our state’s other two entries, St. Mary’s on the very tip of the state’s southeastern coast, and Isle of Hope, nestled next to Savannah along the Skidaway River, each have the advantage of being on the water. 

But we’d like to think they don’t hold a candle to Thomasville being “A Place Apart,” and we commend Southern Living for seeing what so many other visitors — and residents alike — already know.