Tockwotton Historic District and Love Place Historic District by Jill Holloway | photography by Ethan Reddish
Tockwotton and Love Place lie on opposite sides of Remington Avenue where it intersects with Hansell Street . Although linked by common antebellum origins , the neighborhoods developed between the 1850s and the 1920s with an irregular pattern of streets . In 1857 , the Thomasville city limits were expanded to include this area .
Before Thomas County was founded , Peter E . Love , purchased 250 acres in the area . In the 1850s , Love began selling small tracts of this land to fellow townspeople .
The name “ Tockwotton ” is attributed to the Remington family , who moved to Thomasville from the Tockwotton neighborhood in Providence , Rhode Island prior to 1831 . The Narrangansett peoples coined the name before European settlement . It means “ a steep hill to climb .”
Tockwotton was a separate village outside of Thomasville city limits . Augustin Harris Hansell acted as the unofficial leader of Tockwotton citizens and collaborated with Fletcherville Mayor Arthur P . Wright to get both places annexed into Thomasville in 1857 .
The earliest house in the Tockwotton neighborhood was built c . 1853 by architect John Wind for the Augustin H . Hansell family . Judge Hansell , for whom Hansell Street is named , served as mayor of Thomasville and many other political roles .
During Thomasville ’ s Resort Era , winter residents were attracted by the large lots . They built or purchased several fine houses on the west side of Hansell Street . Prosperous permanent citizens built equally grand homes on the east side of Hansell .
The Love Place neighborhood , north of Remington , was subdivided in the 1880s from Peter Love ’ s large land holdings . Attracting middle- class citizens of Thomasville , it gradually developed through the 1920s . The houses in Love Place are modest oneand two- story residences built on smaller lots than those in Tockwotton . Historically , tradesmen such as painters , blacksmiths , carpenters , and grocers , as well as teachers , principals and bankers , lived int eh Love Place neighborhood . Thomasville Landmarks saved many of the homes in this area from imminent commercial development .
On March 11 , 2023 , the homes in the Tockwotton Historic District and Love Place Historic District were opened for a Tour of Homes through a partnership between Abode Fine Furniture , Thomasville History Center , Thomasville Landmarks and Rubio Studio .
The tour featured nine homes , along with All Saints Episcopal Church . Over the course of the next few pages , you will have the opportunity to take a peak at the private , historic homes featured throughout the tour and read a brief synopsis on the home ’ s illustrious history . >>>
Thomasville Scene | Summer 2023 45