Thomas Park was established in 1906 by the Civic Improvement Club, a women's group devoted to beautifying Huntingdon, which developed the area on East Main Street around the train depot to make it more inviting to visitors. The park was named for Major John W. Thomas, Sr., president of the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railroad from 1884 to 1906, and its concrete arch was erected in 1909 by the N.C. and St. L. Railroad Company and remains a Huntingdon landmark. Until 1967, the train depot in the park was the point where many young Carroll County soldiers boarded trains for military service, and oral tradition holds that John Philip Sousa's band performed there shortly before World War I when its train stopped to take on water and the passengers disembarked. The Huntingdon Women's Garden Club later maintained the park and made major improvements in 1985, including landscaping and walkways funded by the family of Jimmie Lee and Georgia Taylor, while the gazebo was funded by the O.B. and Lela Enochs family. In 1993 the Huntingdon Beautification Committee was formed to assist with seasonal upkeep, and in 1995 CSX Railroad donated the caboose, which was refurbished for display. Under Mayor Dale R. Kelley's leadership, the Town of Huntingdon acquired legal title to the property from CSX in 1998, incorporated original depot bricks into the walkway in front of the caboose, and carried out further renovations in 2000 with local donations. Carroll Bank and Trust, trustee for The Wright Charitable Trust, funded the War Memorial monument, fountain, and flag poles; the memorial honors all veterans and bears the names of Carroll County soldiers who died in the nation's wars. Woodmen of the World Lodge #445 donated the first giant American flag for the memorial, friends and family of Danny and Joyce Carter donated two marble benches and two lampposts, and additional lampposts were donated in memory of Dorothy Ellis and former Huntingdon Mayor Lee H. Chance.