Thomasville in Thomas County, Georgia — The American South (South Atlantic)
Flowers Baking Company
Established - 1919
Photographed By David Seibert, January 9, 2005
1. Flowers Baking Company Marker
This image has been digitally modified to make it readable.
Brothers William Howard Flowers & Joseph Hampton Flowers Jr. opened Flowers Baking Company, the first commercial bakery in Southwest Georgia, on this site on November 4, 1919. The following morning, 500 loaves of "Flowers Quality Bread" were sold in Thomasville. The bakery was capable of producing 30,000 loaves of bread a day and was hailed at the time the most modern bakery in the state of Georgia. Following the death of W. H. Flowers in 1934, his son, W.H. Flowers Jr., at the age of 20, took over the bakery. During World War II the Bakery’s ovens ran 24 hours a day, seven days a week supplying bread to U.S. military camps in the southeast. Through acquisitions and expansions, W. H. Flowers, Jr. & his brother Langdon S. Flowers transformed the bakery into a regional baking company. In 1968, after nearly 50 years of operation, Flowers Baking Company became Flowers Industries, Inc. The Thomasville bakery today operates as Flowers Baking Company of Thomasville, Inc., a subsidiary of Flowers Industries. Although the interior of the bakery has been modernized, the exterior walls of the original 1919 bakery are still standing.
Erected 1994 by Georgia Department of Natural Resources. (Marker Number 136-7.)
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce
this page online
Location. 30° 50.083′ N, 83° 58.743′ W. Marker is in Thomasville, Georgia, in Thomas County. Marker is on South Madison Street, 0 miles south of Smith Avenue (U.S. 84), on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Thomasville GA 31792, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker. The Plaza Restaurant (about 500 feet away, measured in a direct line); Old Post Office (approx. ¼ mile away); Old Coffee Road (approx. 0.3 miles away); Thomas County Honors African-American Leaders (approx. 0.3 miles away); Thomas County (approx. 0.3 miles away); Thomas County Confederate Monument (approx. 0.3 miles away); The Big Oak (approx. half a mile away); First Black Graduate of West Point (approx. 0.9 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Thomasville.
Also see . . . About Flowers Foods. Company website entry:
The company is known today as Flowers Foods. (Submitted on October 12, 2009, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia.)
Photographed By David Seibert, January 9, 2005
2. Flowers Baking Company Marker
The marker as it actually appears
Credits. This page was last revised on January 24, 2024. It was originally submitted on October 10, 2009, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. This page has been viewed 1,778 times since then and 26 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on October 10, 2009, by David Seibert of Sandy Springs, Georgia. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.
Editor’s want-list for this marker. Photo of the bakery • Can you help?
