Tifton in Tift County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)

The Myon

Center of Downtown Tifton for Over 100 Years

— Historic Downtown Tifton —

The Myon Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, April 19, 2022

1. The Myon Marker

Inscription.
Built on the smoldering ruins of the burned out Sadie Hotel in 1906 by Tift relatives, Pearl and Irvine Myers, the Myon was viewed as the finest hotel south of Atlanta.

A welcoming stop-over for the thirty passenger trains intersecting Tifton's five downtown train terminals in the early 1900’s, the Myon was a luxurious home for weary travelers.

For the next 50 years it was the center of the social life of Wiregrass Georgia hosting numerous weddings, dinners, family outings, and of course hotel visitors. Its dining room was legendary and served the finest steak in South Georgia.

With the advent of the interstate highway system and the decline of passenger rail in the late 1950’s, downtown Tifton and the Myon went into decline. The Myon became a boarding house and many surrounding businesses closed.

By 1980, the Myon was tenanted mainly by the vagrants and pigeons who called it home. Over half of the surrounding downtown buildings were empty, neglected, and largely abandoned. Facing possible demolition for a proposed parking lot, the future was very uncertain.

In the mid 1980s downtown developer and visionary Harry Harper and a progressive city council renovated the Myon as City Hall and a mixed use commercial, apartment complex. This was the beginning of downtown renewal. Once again, the Myon became the proud center of a progressive community.

The center of a reviving downtown, the Myon awaits the next 100 years.

[image captions]
• An early scene of the lobby of the Myon Hotel.
• Lobby renovation of the Myon Hotel, now City Hall.
• Pearl and Irvine Myers, circa 1899.
• The Hotel Sadie calling card was quite a piece of graphic art. The Sadie, Tifton’s first hotel, built and burned in 1905 and was replaced by the Myon Hotel.
• Henry Harding Tift
• Bessie Tift
• Pearl Myers serving buttermilk to the tobacco buyers

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— some of them preferred her bourbon.
• Myon Hotel dining menu (undated).
• Coin operated fan from the Myon Hotel.
• Myon Hotel, Tifton, GA., 1907
• Myon Hotel, postcard, 1934
• Myon Hotel, postcard, circa 1940
• Marguerite and Henry Myers

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture • Industry & Commerce • Railroads & Streetcars. In addition, it is included in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1906.

Location. 31° 27.166′ N, 83° 30.622′ W. Marker is in Tifton, Georgia, in Tift County. It is on 1st Street East just west of Main Street South, on the left when traveling west. The marker is on the sidewalk in front of Tifton City Hall. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 130 1st Street East, Tifton GA 31794, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is on the Coastal Plain. It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Deep South,

and in the Wiregrass.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, April 19, 2022

2. The Myon Marker

The marker is on the sidewalk near the center of the front/north facade of the former hotel.

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: "Major" Jack L. Woolard (within shouting distance of this marker); John Larkin Wright, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF (within shouting distance of this marker); William W. Outerbridge, Rear Admiral, USN (within shouting distance of this marker); Purple Heart Memorial (within shouting distance of this marker); A.V. "Bubba" Akin (within shouting distance of this marker); Henry Bostick (within shouting distance of this marker); Henry Tift Myers (within shouting distance of this marker); We Honor the Dead by Helping the Living (within shouting distance of this marker). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Tifton.

Regarding The Myon. Contributing property, Tifton Commercial Historic District, National Register of Historic Places № 86000382.

From the National Register Nomination prepared by Carolyn Brooks, November 26, 1985:
The district's
Photographed by Cosmos Mariner, April 19, 2022

3. Tifton City Hall, formerly the Myon Hotel (northwest elevation)
most prominent landmark is the massive three-story Myon Hotel, now the Tifton City Hall, designed with Georgian Revival influence by Montgomery, Alabama architect B.B. Smith.

Also see . . . Myon Hotel (TiftonGA.gov).

Excerpt: For a number of years, the community debated the future of the Myon. The two sides of the discussion centered around demolition or restoration. Meanwhile, by 1984, the City government had outgrown the existing City Hall and was considering building a new facility out of downtown at a projected cost in excess of one million dollars. Simultaneously, Mr. Harold Harper, a local developer, had been restoring several old buildings in downtown. The City decided to hire the architectural firm of Brittain, Thompson and Bray of Macon to study the building and prepare a design and use plan. After the study met with the approval of the City commissioners, they jointly purchased the building with Mr. Harper at a cost of $100,000 for the City and $ 150,000 for Mr. Harper. The City accepted the low bid for a project manager from Mr. Harold Harper at $25,000. Ultimately the project cost the City $865,955. In
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the summer of 1987, the City moved its office from the overcrowded 1950s City Hall into the like-new building which had been equipped with modern heating and cooling, lighting and a state-of-the-art computer system. Based on figures kept during the restoration, the City had saved the taxpayers approximately $500,000.

(Submitted on October 15, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.)

Credits. This page was last revised on October 15, 2026. It was originally submitted on October 14, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida. This page has been viewed 6 times since then. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 15, 2026, by Cosmos Mariner of Cape Canaveral, Florida.