Thomasville celebrates local ties to Gone with the Wind on film's anniversary

January 30, 2019

THOMASVILLE, Ga. (WCTV) -- Just minutes from the Florida-Georgia line, a dirt road leads you to one of the Peach State's hidden treasures.

"It takes you back in time. It truly does." Kim Sponaugle, South Eden Plantation owner and CEO, told WCTV.

The Showboat Theater on South Eden Plantation in Thomasville looks like your average, run-of-the-mill playhouse. But, if only these walls could talk.

Howard Hanna, the plantation's owner in the early 1900s, was faced with a decision: his good friend up the road asked him to invest in a film, a small project that Hanna knew little about. He simply knew that it was called

.

Hanna wanted to see the film before financially investing in it, so he came up with an idea: he hosted an invite-only, private viewing of the film at the Showboat Theater in Thomasville. It was the first time that the film was seen by the public.

"You can only imagine the people that were here," Sponaugle said. "I'm sure the cast of

could have very well been here."