25 West Choccolocco Street
Thomason Grocery Warehouse
- Built in 1887, likely by the prominent Draper family, the Thomason Grocery Warehouse has long stood as a symbol of Oxford’s commercial and civic growth.
- For much of its existence, the building served as a wholesale grocery, grain, and feed warehouse—central to the city’s early economy.
- Robert P. Thomason, who moved to Oxford in the 1870s with little to his name, worked in the mercantile business before founding his own grocery business in 1879.
- In 1891, he formally established the Thomason Grocery Company. Thomason also played a key role in Oxford’s development, serving as mayor during the 1880s and 1890s.
- Under his leadership, Oxford made significant infrastructure improvements, including the installation of sewer and water lines.
- He was also vice president of the Anniston, Oxford, & Oxanna Street Railway Company in 1890. Thomason relocated to Anniston in 1908.
- Following its time as a grocery warehouse, the building was later used for storage and as a sign manufacturing facility.
- In 2010, it took on a new life as the home of the Terrortorium Haunted House and Amusements.
- Adding to its cultural value, the “Greetings from Historic Main Street Oxford” mural was installed on the east side of the building in 2020.
- Designed by Stacy Booth, Marketing & Public Relations Director for the City of Oxford, the mural features iconic downtown landmarks, connecting the building’s rich past with the city’s vibrant present.