History is reflected in landmarks for historian Ephraim J. Rotter. Rotter serves as curator of the collection for the Thomasville History Center, cataloging and organizing their collection’s nearly 500,000 photographs and 5,000 objects.

However, his favorite part of the collection is a building that was once owned by northern banker Oliver Ewart. Inside is one of the oldest single lane bowling alleys in America, built in 1896 and lacking any modern electrical or mechanical features. 

“It was a huge craze in the 1890s, and there were many of these built, but this is one of the very few left,” says Rotter. 

The Center in Thomasville, Georgia, is now open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and asks that visitors follow CDC recommendations for social distancing, face coverings and hand hygiene. For visitors who would rather have an open-air experience of Thomasville’s historical sites, Rotter recommends the Self-Guided Historic Walking and Driving Tour. 

Many structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places with architecture that dates back to the 1800s. Building markers indicate both the year of construction and the original business or family that occupied the structure prior to its current tenants. Rotter says that many of the homes on the tour are still private residences, so it is important to respect the owner’s privacy and admire them from a distance. 

“It’s been a success story for the city and all the business owners and organizations that have contributed to making it happen,” says Rotter who highlights historic downtown as a main attraction on the tour. 

The tour stretches 4.3 miles and guides visitors through Thomasville’s 84 historic homes and buildings. First published in 1978, Rotter says he joins a group of nearly twenty individuals who have contributed individual entries to the map over time. 

Rotter explains how the map tells the story of Thomasville as a small southern town that boomed during the “Victorian resort era” of the late 19th century. The town allowed many northerners to not only settle in the region, but purchase land and help establish Thomasville as an economic and cultural hub. 

“All the people who moved here brought different ideas,” says Rotter, who is a transplant from New Jersey. 

He first became enchanted with the region when he started his position at the Thomasville History Center over a decade ago. His interest in history reaches back even further to a fourth-grade viewing of the comedy musical, “1776” about the American Revolution.

Rotter went on to major in history at Stockton University and earned his master’s degree from Rutgers in public history. He worked for a brief period of time on the Battleship New Jersey after graduation. Rotter experienced the unique stories tucked away in the maze-like battleship museum, which proved to be a non-traditional workspace as former veterans found his offices below deck and would share stories from WWII, the Vietnam War, and more. 

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