I went to high school in Thomson, Georgia and live about 25 miles from Thomaston, Georgia, but had never been to Thomasville, Georgia until last weekend. What an amazing town and area with history similar to Jekyll Island. I really enjoyed my tours and stay there.

In the 1800s rich folks from up north wanted to escape the cold weather, just like what we call “snowbirds” now. Without good roads, they needed to ride trains south if they didn’t have yachts and live on the coast, and the main railroad line ended in Thomasville. It did not extend into Florida due to the dangers of mosquito carried diseases like yellow fever and malaria that were widespread a little further south.

A couple fancy hotels survive from that time with elegant rooms and settings for the very rich. But even the very rich balked at paying high prices for rooms for their families and themselves and all their servants that traveled with them for a couple of months each year. They decided they could build their own places outside town and save money.

The results are mansions on “Plantations” out in the piney woods. Most centered on hunting, with deer, quail and turkey abundant. They also ran fox hounds for fox and bobcat.

The rich with yachts did the same thing on Jekyll Island, building huge mansions there similar to the ones in Thomasville to escape south to better weather in the winter.

Touring one of them in Thomasville, like Pebble Hill Plantation, is amazing. As you drive in past outbuildings for servants and other activities you approach a huge brick building designed after Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello and think “what a beautiful mansion.” Then you are told that is the stable.

The house, built in the early 1900 after the original burned, has all the modern conveniences of that time, even air conditioning. Each room has a fancy embroidered bell pull to call a servant to your location. Each bed had a button to push for breakfast in bed. There was even an example of the printed menu for guests to check off what they wanted for breakfast.

I toured on a Friday afternoon and there were three weddings going on that day. It is a beautiful, popular place for weddings and other events. And you can still go there and hunt, for a price.

Out in the pine woods, our guide showed us a longleaf pine tree with the nest of one of the rarest birds in the Southeast, a red-cockaded woodpecker. The land on the plantation is managed for wildlife and nature, with proscribed burns to keep the area like it was before it was settled.

The wiregrass covered forest floor is home to many animals and a diverse population of plants. While we were there, yellow blooms carpeted the whole area under the pine trees for many acres. They looked like black eyed Susan flowers but my “Picture This” app on my phone identified them as swamp sunflowers or narrow leaf sunflowers, native to the area and beautiful this time of year.

On Saturday my group met at Myrtlewood Plantation in the clubhouse on a beautiful lake. Some of the members tried fishing but were unsuccessful, the bright sun, clear water and time of day made it tough. Unlike Pebble Hill, Myrtlewood is managed for hunting and fishing, with modern cabins for guests on several different lakes.

Driving in on a dirt and gravel road, we passed a modern five stand sporting clays range where hunters can sharpen their skills before going after quail and doves there. You can also hunt deer and turkey during those seasons. It is an ideal place to hunt, target practice and fish, all in one area.

Very impressive was the Ranges at Oakfield, a modern sport shooting facility owned and run by Thomas County and developed with help from the Georgia Department of Natural Resources. The facility includes two skeet and trap fields, a 5-Stand sporting clays range, a 100-yard rifle range and a 25-yard pistol range.

Rifle and pistol ranges include electronic targets that show you immediately on a screen by your shooting station where your bullet hits. That allows you to adjust sights and shooting stance without walking downrange to the target.

Future plans include development of a static archery range and a 3D archery range. Ranges are open to the public for a small daily fee, or you can join with a membership to use the facilities if you live locally. It was an impressive facility!