Don’t miss out on the fun, food, and festivities!

Location: Thomson Depot Area – 111 Main Street, Thomson GA 30824

Off I-20 from Augusta – Exit 172, turn left onto Washington Rd and go 4 1/2 - 5 miles. Festival will be on the left just before the railroad tracks.

Off I-20 from Atlanta – Exit 172, turn turn right onto Washington Rd. and go miles 4 1/2 -5miles.  Festival will be on the left just before the railroad tracks.

We look forward to seeing you !!!

During the holiday season, people are looking to create precious memories with family and friends.  What better way to do so than to enter in Thomson’s 5k walk/run?! It doesn’t have to be about winning,  make it about starting a race with those closest to you and ending with a sense of accomplishment, bonding, excitement, and memories for years to come!

The Thomson Depot Dash is held in conjunction with the Festival off Main festivities. Held the first weekend of December, this will be the 9th annual 5k Depot Dash. Participants may register at the Thomson-McDuffie Chamber of Commerce office thru December 2nd.  All entries after November 25 will increase in price to $25. Registration will begin at 8:00am and end at 8:40am, all race participants must be checked in no later than 8:40am.

Check in will be in the parking lot behind the Thomson Twin Cinema located at 131 Main St. Thomson, GA 30824. Parking can be found in the Knox shopping center, across the street from the theater and behind the Chamber office (149 Main St.). The race will include 14 divisions with both male and female categories. The divisions are as follows: 14 and under, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70 and over.

**1st and 2nd overall winners will receive a 3 month membership to the YMCA. Winners of each category will receive a medal. Each participant will receive a Depot Dash t-shirt and a goodie bag.**

Thank you for spending a part of this festive time of the year participating in our Festival off Main activities.

Depot Dash Entry Form 2011 

Regsiter online here :http://www.active.com/register/index.cfm?CHECKSSO=0&EVENT_ID=1992343

Thomson, Leadership McDuffie and Thomson-McDuffie County Chamber of Commerce is honoring those who have served in the military with personalized, engraved bricks. The bricks will be placed around the fountain located at the new government complex located at 210 Railroad Street.  This is a great way to recognize veterans, especially current and former residents of this area! 

 Reserve a brick honoring your favorite soldier in the Walkway of Honor today! The cost for each brick is $50.  Stop by the Thomson-McDuffie Chamber of Commerce to complete the form or download the form below.  For more info, please call (706)597-1000

Brick Form for Registration

111 Railroad Street, Thomson, Georgia 30824

It’s a secret! Remember, don’t tell anybody.  The Grinch will be at the movie! Don’t forget to sign your name on the back of your tickets.  The tickets will be sold at the Chamber of Commerce.  Now remember, don’t tell anybody that the Grinch will be at the movie! (Shhhhh…..Reindeer Max told me so!)

Refreshments served at the Chamber of Commerce.  Buses leave the Chamber of Commerce at 5:30 p.m.  Ticket prices in advance are $20 and $25 the day of the event.

The Wrightsboro Church

The Wrightsboro Church located on Wrightsboro Road just northwest of Thomson is one of the oldest churches in the county having celebrated it’s 200th birthday in 2010.
Members of the Society of Friends, also known as “Quakers,” originally settled the area of Wrightsboro. They moved to the area in the late 18th Century as they fled religious persecution in the northern United States.
The Quakers built a meeting house on the existing church property, but that meeting house burned and another was built. That second meeting house also was lost in a fire, and the existing church building was erected in 1810.
The Wrightsboro Meeting House later became a Methodist church, a church Regena Hawes Hall attended in her early childhood.
Regena’s family is the fourth generation to live in the area. As a small child she remembers attending the church when there were about 30 to 40 who attended each week.
Ms. Hall explained the church only had a preacher give a sermon on the fourth Sunday of the month as the church had to share its minister with the churches in other areas like Camak and Mesena. On other Sundays the church would only have Sunday school classes.
“We didn’t have a separate classroom, so everybody held Sunday school classes in the main part of the church. The youngest kids would have their class in one corner of the church, then there were classes in the other three corners, and the adults had their classes in the center of the sanctuary.”
Ms. Hall and others said the area of Wrightsboro was once a vibrant community that included several businesses and many residents. Its growth was buoyed by the fact an important stagecoach route came through the center of town, but with the growth of the railroad and the decline of the stagecoach’s importance, eventually it began to take its toll on the area.
Finally, in 1963, the church ceased having regular weekly services. However, the church does hold two services each year – a Christmas-time service and the annual anniversary service, which is always held on the first Sunday of May. Following the service, a picnic lunch is

The Home of Thayer and the Late Henry Montgomery

The home of Thayer and the late Henry Montgomery is an Italian style stucco villa with fluted Corinthian columns, Palladium arches, and shell molding throughout the 3,600 square foot home.
The house was originally built in the 1950’s and then thoroughly renovated in 1997. It is very open with a good flow for entertaining.
Upon entering, note the high ceilings of the atrium.
The living room to the left boasts a baby grand piano and an attractive collection of porcelain Henredon figurines.
The dining room displays a leaded glass window and the large glass doored grate front contains Fitz & Floyd china and lead crystal.
In the den, Henry Montgomery’s portrait by Bea Kuhlke hangs over the mantle. The original coyote and giraffe watercolors are by daughter-in-law Wendi Montgomery.
Outside there is a pagoda by the pool with comfortable seating to view the mature palms and blooming sasanquas. Thayer has a lime tree in a pot which flourishes. There is a hot tub on the adjoining deck.
The kitchen is spacious with 12-foot ceilings, granite counter tops, and gourmet appliances – sub-zero refrigerator and a Thermadore double oven and warmer.
The notable feature of the breakfast room is a pickled pine vaulted ceiling.
The master bedroom has a view of the deck and is furnished with oriental style furniture, lamps and framed silk tapestries. The chaise couch with a sable throw is a comfortable place to rest.
Across from the master bedroom is a suite of two guest rooms with an adjoining bath. There is a full light-filled sitting area adjoining one of the bedrooms with plantation shutters.
The hall bathroom continues the oriental theme of furnishings throughout the house and was decorated by Lee Ann Cowart.
The original art in the hallway is notable. The oil depicting the mountain lake is by Thayer’s aunt, Marie Chalker, and shows a scene in Idaho, her home state.
There is an oil painting by Lucy McTier, “The Master’s Pride,” depicting Brent Smith, Epp Wilson and Charles Montgomery. The brass title plate carries the inscription “These boys were a God send to Belle Meade Hunt. Their youthful “wants to,” ability, and dedication to tradition accomplished much.” The original watercolor of Belle Meade Hunt is by Nancy Kent of Gibson, Georgia, Thayer’s first cousin.
The sunroom has a large TV for entertaining and is filled with plants. The Chinese theme continues with a Chinese rug and porcelain lamps, as well as, Chinese vases.
Henry died in April, 2011, after a short illness. The sunroom is where Thayer most feels his presence. Cushioned wicker furniture invites one to sit and take in the spreading pasture and pond views and recall happy memories.

The Home of Gary and Victoria Gilmer

The Gilmer home was built in 2005, nestled in the Wrightsboro Community in the midst of what was once a cedar forest fronting the historical fort that many years ago stood defending the Quakers. The home’s design was inspired by location, history and life’s travels. Only a unique combination of talents from this well matched husband and wife team could have made this home possible.
Gary Gilmer, who was born in New Jersey, but with deep Georgian roots, has been in residential and commercial construction for 24 years. He is the creator of the beautiful architectural design and construction of this lovely home and barn. Victoria was born and raised in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her origin and culture is expressed by her interior design throughout their home.
Most importantly the Gilmer’s are blessed with an incredible daughter who is almost six years of age. Being very talented and having the whole world at her fingertips, she brings lots of life to their home. For the Gilmer’s, their home is more than a structure. It is a haven for the love of family and friends, where they can enjoy the natural habitat surrounding them.
The Gilmer’s hope you enjoy touring their ongoing labor of love that they are sharing with you this holiday season.

The Home of Jean and Ray Derrick

When Mrs. Hazel Holzendorf decided to relocate, she first offered her five acre parcel at the junction of Three Points and Wrightsboro Roads (and adjacent to the Hunt barn and kennels) to Belle Meade Masters Epp Wislon and Charlie Lewis, who purchased the property and then sold it in turn to longtime Belle Meade Hunt member Jean Derrick and her husband Ray to construct a residence secondary to their home in Irmo, South Carolina. Their son, Trent, had recently entered college, and the couple had time to expand their hunting activities. Ray is a member of the Phinzey Hunt Club, as well as an avid gardener, and Jean is Assistant Field Master at the Belle Meade Hunt. Charlie Lewis helped them assemble a talented team to construct their 1,400 square foot cottage. Larry Colson was the builder, Jim Sigler draftsman, and Betty Stanley the decorator. The small home has an open floor plan with two bedrooms and a bath and a stone patio for grilling and drinks at sunset. They frequently host stirrup cups for the Hunt when mounted riders gather on the lawn before the Hunt for light food and drink.
The interior is furnished with comfortable antiques. Note the American Sheridan table and chairs, circa 1830; the Empire chest (1876 is scrawled on the bottom of the middle drawer); and the country-made huntboard, originally from Virginia, with Hepplewhite legs, about 1830. The silver urn on the huntboard is a Victorian lemonade server, and is useful for dispensing hot port at stirrup cups. The drop leaf mahogany table has carved tobacco leaf legs and is slave-made. The chair to the right of it was one of the few items saved from Jean’s great, great-grandfather’s home in Abbeville, South Carolina, when it burned in 1875.
The mounted boar head was shot by their son, Trent, while hunting with his father at the South Carolina club. The cedar log embedded in the fireplace mantle was cut by Epp Wilson on his Foxboro property.
Collections of Hunt pitchers and baskets are on display. The original painting of raccoons over the fireplace is by a Columbia artist Vann Martin, and the painting of the gray horse over the chest is Jean’s field hunter, Dixie, by noted national sporting artist Larry Wheeler, who lives in Washington, Georgia. The hounds over the hunt board were painted by Virginia artist Julie Kirk and depict Belle Meade Lily and Image. The bronze sculpture of two draft horses side by side on the coffee table is called “Picken’ flies,” by English sculptress Belinda Sillars.
The master bedroom bed and side tables were made for the Derricks by Boykin Furniture Company in Camden, South Carolina. The chest comes from eastern North Carolina, around 1840, and the mirror is American Adams style, around 1800.

As the summer ends and the fall begins, it’s also time to begin preparation for one of the most exciting events of the year!  Festival off Main is just around the corner and you have found the right place for information, applications, and updates.

STAY TUNED! There is more to come!

Festival off Main Committee

• Holiday sign in front of your business stating that you are a Sponsor
• Name on all signage during  festival events
• Name on T-shirts for the 5k run
• Sponsor Appreciation Dinner
• Name mentioned in radio ads for November & December
• Name listed on Festival off Main website
• A warm and fuzzy feeling inside for making such a beautiful event possible!

For more information, please contact the Thomson-McDuffie Chamber of Commerce at (706)597-1000