Hinkle Milling Company

Hinkle Milling Company

Grist, flour, and feed were essential commodities for the early people of Thomasville. Most grist mills were run by water power and sat on the banks of a river or creek to easily access that power. The first flour and grist mill in Thomasville was owned by founder John W. Thomas. Thomas owned the first steam-operated mill in Davidson County and the only one in the county until 1880 that was not located on a stream or creek.

Hinkle Milling was the longest operating mill and most notable. Many of our citizens remember going to Hinkle Milling for agri-supply needs such as animal feed. It sat on present day Randolph Street by North Hamby Creek; where Loflin's Restaurant resides.

February 1892 The Lexington Dispatch stated: "G. R. Miller has completed a saw mill on the grounds where the flour mill stood--also has laid a foundation for a roller mill." Miller sold the mill later that year to Capt. J. E. Sumner who owned flour and grist mills on Swearing Creek and other parts of the county. Sumner completed the mill and named it 'Eureka.' Sumner was the grandfather of notable Thomasville citizen, J. Walter Lambeth Jr. 4 years after Sumner bought the mill, he sold it to D. T. Lambeth & Sons and George Yow took over as head miller. "One of the familiar sights in Thomasville in those days was the Orphanage wagon drawn by oxen and driven by the older orphan boys going to and from the roller mill (Matthews & Sink, 1952)."

John W. Lambeth bought the mill from his father and brothers in 1899 and operated it until 1905 when it was sold to M. E. Bishop. Bishop renamed the mill "Thomasville Roller Mills' and it grew steadily with the town population for the nine years he operated it. In 1914 W. G. Hinkle bought the roller mill and the name was changed to 'Hinkle Milling Company'; the last name the building would ever receive.

W.G. Hinkle handed operations over in 1946 to his two sons, months before his death. At the time the mill was doing an annual business of over $500,000 and employed between 12 and 14 workers. The mill was shut down for good in 1989 and razed in 1992.

North Hamby Creek is not much to look at on Randolph Street. It may seem small and dinky, but it once supplied our town with life in the form of feed and flour. To know the change that creek as seen over the years would be a treasure.

Thomasville Graded School

Thomasville Graded School

Central Recreation Center sits where Main Street School used to be. But did you know Thomasville Graded School sat on the property before Main Street School?

Erected in 1902, the city borrowed $10,000 to construct the first public school building in Thomasville. The town population had grown from 751 people in 1900 to 2500 people in 1903 due to the building of chair factories. The first Monday in January of 1903 saw a large crowd gather as the school was commissioned and education exercises commenced. The school consisted of eight classrooms, a large auditorium, two small offices, and, out back, a playground. Water was supplied from a pump on the west side of the building. Two frame houses could be found on either side of the building which housed the restrooms for the school.

Only four classrooms were used in 1903 with the other half of the school sitting empty. By 1915, all rooms were full, the auditorium was being used as classroom space, and a large addition was being built on the back of the building. The new addition doubled the size of the classroom space and provided an even larger auditorium. But all of this was outgrown by 1921, in just 6 short years. It was then a new school was planned with controversy arising.

On Good Friday of April 1922, the building was engulfed in flames and completely destroyed by fire. I try to picture what that scene looked like 99 years ago as I write this.

Thomasville Graded School is now lost to time with most of Thomasville not knowing it ever existed. Many of our parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents may have attended this school. If you're from Thomasville, take a drive by 205 E. Main Street sometime and imagine the magnificent building that used to sit there. Although a school is no longer on the property, a building sits there that still invests in our youth and community thanks to Thomasville Parks & Recreation.

Written By: Austin Hill