Thomasville in Thomas County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

Thomas Drug Store

Established 1881

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, October 6, 2025

1. Thomas Drug Store Marker

Inscription.
Successor to W.E. Davies & Co., 1869
Thomasville, Georgia
Oldest continuously operating drug store in Georgia.

Erected 2021 by John Lee of Nansemond Chapter, National Society Colonial Dames XVII Century.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce • Science & Medicine. In addition, it is included in the The Colonial Dames XVII Century, National Society series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1881.

Location. 30° 50.226′ N, 83° 58.805′ W. Marker is in Thomasville, Georgia, in Thomas County. It is on South Broad Street just south of Jackson Street (U.S. 319), on the right when traveling south. The marker is mounted at eye-level on the south/left side of the storefront. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 108 South Broad Street, Thomasville GA 31792, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Georgia’s Coastal Plain. It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Wiregrass.

Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

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the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Old Post Office (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); The Plaza Restaurant (about 700 feet away); Thomas County Honors African-American Leaders (approx. 0.2 miles away); Thomas County (approx. 0.2 miles away); Thomas County Confederate Monument (approx. 0.2 miles away); Flowers Baking Company (approx. 0.2 miles away); Old Coffee Road (approx. 0.3 miles away); The Big Oak (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Thomasville.

Related markers. Click here for a list of markers that are related to this marker.

Also see . . . Thomas Drug Store gets historic marker (Thomasville Times-Enterprise).

Excerpt: W. E. Davies, a prominent druggist in Thomasville, purchased lot 108, South Broad Street, built a store and opened it
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, October 6, 2025

2. Thomas Drug Store Marker
as a “drug firm” in 1869. In 1881, Robert Thomas purchased the store and renamed it Thomas Drug Store. Thomas advertised “Drugs, Medicine, Patent Medicine, Lightfoot Pulmonary Syrup, Garden Seeds, School Books, Stationery, Prescriptions, and Rye Whiskie [sic].”
In the 1880s, Thomasville was a mecca for the wealthy Northerners because of the fresh, pure pine air and too, the railroad ended here. At one time, there were as many as 9,000 winter visitors residing in hotels, boarding houses, and country residences. They needed a pharmacy and Thomas Drug Store was it.
The year 1891 saw the installation of the blue and white mosaic tiles, which are still in place and visible in the retail portion of the store. Large prescription books from the 1880s contain a complete listing of prescriptions. Various compounding equipment, balances and scales are still kept in the store.
During the 1920s, when Prohibition was the law of the land, the sale of drinking alcohol became illegal. The number of prescriptions for grain alcohol “solely for medicinal purposes” skyrocketed at Thomas Drugs.
In 1983, the drug store bought its first computer, and it was
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, October 6, 2025

3. Thomas Drug Store Marker
The marker is mounted at eye-level on the left side of the storefront.
the size of a refrigerator. It was purported to be one of the first drug stores in the country to have a computer.
For decades, the ownership was passed down in the Thomas family. To this day, it is still the same store, same location and makes deliveries to its customers as it did 1881.

(Submitted on October 10, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Thomas Drug Store image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, October 6, 2025

4. Thomas Drug Store

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, October 6, 2025

5. Thomas Drug Store

Credits. This page was last revised on October 10, 2025. It was originally submitted on October 8, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 80 times since then and 30 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on October 10, 2025, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.