Compared to other towns in Alabama, Dothan is a young city. The area was originally inhabited by American Alibamu and Creek tribal Indians and settled around 1830 by nine families, who moved to southeast Alabama to harvest the abundant pine timber. The small community, known as Poplar Head, waned during the Civil War and later flourished during the Reconstruction Era with the arrival of the Pony Express. In 1885, the town, by than the largest in Houston County, was incorporated as Dothan. The name was chosen from a reference in Genisis 37:17 which reads, "...for I heard them say, 'Let us go to Dothan,"
In 1893 Dothan outbid other towns to be the site of the first railroad to pass through the region. This vital rail link brought with it the beginnings of permant growth and prosperity.
Agriculture has long been the largest employer in the area. After timber was cut and land cleared, Dothan was the center of extensive cotton cultivation until the invasion of the boll weevil; following this devastation, farmers turned to peanut cultivation. Today, one fourth of the entire U.S. peanut crop is harvested within a 75-mile radius of Dothan. The city feels justified in calling itself the "Peanut Capital of the World," and each autumn has a 2-week long celebration, the National Peanut Festival.
Dothan has aggressively sought industry and today boasts the plants of such well-known companies as General Electric, Sony, and Michelin. It remains the largest town within a 90-mile radius, covering 21 counties in southeast Alabama, southwest Georgia, and northwest Florida. Dothan is served by several major state and U.S. highways, a regional airport, 30 major freight lines, and an inland waterway system.
WIth a population of some 55,000 and a market area of about 500,000 persons, Dothan serves as the hub of business, retail, and health care services in a region known as "the Wiregrass," because of the native wiry-stem grass found growing profusely on the land by early settlers.
The development of the Chattahoochee River 20 miles east of Dothan represents an industrial asset to the area. Three dams provide navagation from the Gulf of Mexico at Appalachicola, Florida, north to Columbus, Georgia and Phenix City, Alabama, through a 9-feet deep, 100-feet wide channel. Alabama Power Company built and operates the $500 million Farley Nuclear Plant on the river to furnish electricity for distribution. Dothan's location 100 miles from the Gulf of Mexico and the two reservoirs formed by the dams provide excellent opportunities for recreation.
Dothan is home to Wallace College and Troy State University-Dothan and offers an extensive city-sponsored recreational program, including the operation of 19 parks. The cultural and educational life of the city is further enhanced with the Wiregrass Museum of Art, the Southeast Alabama Ballet and Dance Company, the Houston County Arts and Humanities Council, and the Wiregrass Arts Alliance. An extensive downtown mural project is nearing completion, and botanical gardens are underway.
In little more than 100 years, the tiny village of Poplar Head has grown into the City of Dothan, which proudly claims its recognized position as the "Hub of the Wiregrass" ---Grace Hodges
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