Thomasville History Series - The Piney Woods Hotel
This geocache is located in Paradise Park, which once provided beautiful frontage to one of the South’s most glamerous resorts, The Piney Woods Hotel. The cache is easily accesible from the dirt parking lot off of Dawson Street. The cache shouldn't require any tree climbing, but may be near a tree or two.
The Piney Woods Hotel, built in 1885, was situated along the railroad tracks, between Broad Street and Dawson Street. The hotel welcomed thousands of guests from Northern states during it’s more than twenty year existence, before a devestating fire in April of 1906. The cause of the fire is still unknown. Before The Piney Woods burned, guest enjoyed what was deemed “Yankee Paradise,” now just refered to as Paradise Park, on foot, bicycle, and by listening to bands at the band stand. The Piney Woods Hotel fire cost, in today’s currency, more than 2.5 million dollars in damage.
Today, Paradise Park is home to picnic tables, playground equipment, and ample space. It is also home to numerous local festivals throughout the year.
One remaining remnant of the park’s “Yankee Paradise” days is the band stand, donated by Justus Strawbridge of Philadelphia and pictured below, is in the center of the park. The bandstand,just a minute's walk from this cache, hosted the likes of John Phillip Souza, known for composing great marches like "Stars and Stripes Forever."
The historic bandstand, still standing
The grand Piney Woods Hotel
A pamphlet distributed in Northern cities promoting The Piney Woods Hotel