Dothan, Alabama facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Dothan
City
Downtown Dothan
Flag Seal
Location of Dothan in Dale, Henry, and Houston Counties, Alabama
Country	United States
State	Alabama
Counties	Houston, Dale, Henry
Government
• Type	Mayor - Council
Area
• Total	90.16 sq mi (233.53 km2)
• Land	89.84 sq mi (232.68 km2)
• Water	0.33 sq mi (0.84 km2)
Population  (2020)
• Total	71,072
• Rank	AL: 8th
• Density	791.10/sq mi (305.45/km2)
• CSA	248,947
ZIP Codes	36301–36305, 36345, 36350
FIPS code	01-21184

Dothan (pronounced DOH-thən) is a city in Houston County, Alabama. It's located in the southeastern part of the state. A small part of the city also reaches into Dale and Henry counties.

In 2020, Dothan had about 71,072 people. This makes it Alabama's eighth-largest city. It's also the fifth largest city in Alabama by land area. Dothan is close to the borders of Georgia and Florida. The city is named after a biblical city.

Dothan is the main city in the Dothan, Alabama metropolitan area. This area includes Houston, Geneva, and Henry counties. It's also a big part of the Wiregrass region. Dothan is the largest city in this part of Alabama. It's an important center for transportation and business.

About one-fourth of all the peanuts grown in the U.S. come from nearby farms. Many of these peanuts are processed in Dothan. This is why Dothan is known as "The Peanut Capital of the World"! The city also hosts the yearly National Peanut Festival.

History of Dothan

How Dothan Started

The area where Dothan is now was once part of British West Florida. This was between 1763 and 1783. Early European-American settlers found a spring here. They called it "Poplar Head." Many thought the sandy soil wasn't good for farming.

A simple fort was built on the Barber Plantation. Settlers could go there for safety. This fort was gone by the 1840s. This was after the Indian Wars ended in Alabama. Most Native American tribes were moved west.

The first permanent white settlers arrived in the 1830s. There were nine families. They came to cut down the many trees. Their settlement, Poplar Head, didn't grow much. It was almost empty by the Civil War. After the war, a Pony Express route started. The town began to grow.

On November 11, 1885, citizens voted to make it an official city. They named it Dothan. A local clergyman suggested the name. "Poplar Head" was already taken by another town.

Early Challenges

In 1889, Dothan had a serious event. It was about a tax on wagons used in the city. Local farmers didn't like this tax. They formed a group called the "Farmers Alliance." Some of their men were arrested. This led to a conflict where some people were hurt. The Chief of Police, Tobe Domingus, was accused of a crime. He was later found not guilty after a new trial.

City Growth and Peanuts

In 1893, a railroad came to Dothan. This was a big deal! It brought new wealth and growth. Farmers could now easily sell and transport their crops. Pine forests were used for turpentine and wood. This wood became ship masts and lumber.

After the pine trees were cut, farmers grew cotton. But in the early 1900s, tiny insects called boll weevils ruined the cotton crops. Farmers then started growing peanuts. Peanuts grew well and brought money to the city. Dothan became a center for peanuts. Today, a lot of the U.S. peanut crop is grown near Dothan.

Dothan also became a place for factories. Companies like Sony, Michelin, and General Electric opened plants here. The Southern Company built the Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Generating Station nearby. This large power plant makes a lot of electricity. Some companies have closed their plants in Dothan over the years.

Dothan was first part of Henry County, Alabama. But on May 9, 1903, it became the main city of the new Houston County. The city kept growing. The Dothan Regional Airport was built in 1965. Wallace Community College opened in 1969. Troy University also has a campus in Dothan.

Porter Hardware was the oldest hardware store in Alabama. It was in Dothan from 1889 to 2014. In 2018, it reopened as a museum.

Geography and Climate

Where is Dothan?

Dothan is in southeastern Alabama. It's in Houston County. The city limits also go into Henry and Dale counties. The city covers about 90 square miles (232 square kilometers). Most of this is land.

Dothan is in the Wiregrass region of Alabama. It's close to the Florida and Georgia state lines. The land is mostly flat and has many trees. There are a few small hills. These hills gently slope towards the Chattahoochee River to the east. They also slope towards the Gulf Coast to the south.

Looking up Foster St. toward downtown Dothan

Dothan's Weather

Dothan has a humid subtropical climate. This means it has hot, humid summers. Winters are usually mild. In summer, the average temperature is about 83°F (28°C). In winter, it's around 50.8°F (10.4°C).

It rains a lot throughout the year. August is usually the wettest month. October is the driest. Snow is very rare in Dothan. A two-inch snowfall happens about once every ten years. The last big snow was in 2010. Tornadoes can happen in spring, summer, and fall.

People of Dothan

Population Changes

Dothan's population has grown a lot over the years.

In 2020, there were 71,072 people living in Dothan. There were 27,103 households. The population is made up of different groups:

Education in Dothan

Most students in Dothan go to Dothan City Schools or Houston County Schools. There are also private schools like Houston Academy.

For higher education, Dothan has several colleges. These include Troy University Dothan Campus and Wallace Community College. There is also the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Transportation

Airport

The Dothan Regional Airport helps people travel by air. It has flights from Delta Air Lines. The airport was built in 1965. It is special because it supports itself. It doesn't use tax money. All its income comes from fees charged to users.

Roads

Several major U.S. highways pass through Dothan. These include U.S. Routes 84, 231, and 431. They run along Ross Clark Circle (AL-210). This is a bypass road that goes around the city.

Dothan is the only one of Alabama's ten largest cities that doesn't have an Interstate highway. The closest one is Interstate 10, about 32 miles south.

Public Transport

Passenger trains no longer stop in Dothan. But the old 1907 Dothan station is still there. Greyhound Bus Lines has a bus station in town. Dothan doesn't have regular public buses. But it does offer a "dial-a-ride" service for those who need it.

Religion

Dothan has many different churches and places of worship. The largest Christian group is the Southern Baptist church. There are also Methodist, Presbyterian, Episcopal, and other Protestant churches.

St. Columba Catholic Church serves Roman Catholics. Dothan also has a Reform Judaism synagogue called Temple Emanu-El. It became famous when it offered money to Jewish families to move to Dothan. The city also has two mosques and two Wards of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.

Media and News

Dothan has a daily newspaper called the Dothan Eagle. There is also a weekly newspaper, the Dothan Progress.

The city has four TV stations:

• WRGX-LD 23 (NBC)
• WDFX 34 (FOX)
• WDHN 18 (ABC)
• WTVY 4 (CBS/MyNetworkTV/CW)

You can also get cable TV from companies like WOW! and Spectrum. DirecTV and Dish Network offer satellite TV. Dothan has several radio stations too. Dothan Magazine is a magazine that comes out every two months. It shares news about the Dothan area.

Sports and Fun

Dothan has hosted minor league baseball teams in the past. Teams were known as the Boll Weevils, Rebels, and Phillies. They played at different ballparks in the city.

The city was also home to a Ultimate Fighting Championship event in 1997. Dothan is part of the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. This trail has many great golf courses.

From 2007 to 2010, Dothan was called a "Playful City USA." This award honors cities that make sure kids have great places to play.

Economy and Jobs

Dothan has many different types of businesses. Agriculture is the biggest industry. But stores and restaurants have also grown a lot. Peanut farming is still very important. Cotton farming is also becoming more important. Growing Tomatoes is big too, especially in nearby Slocomb. Slocomb calls itself "the Tomato Capital of the World."

Main Employers

Here are some of the biggest employers in Dothan:

Culture and Arts

Festivals and Events

The National Peanut Festival happens every November. It brings in up to 200,000 visitors! The festival has carnival rides, games, live music, and competitions. There's a big parade in downtown Dothan on the last day.

Dothan also hosts two professional barbecue competitions. The Tri-State BBQ Festival is in April. PorktoberQue is in September.

Museums and Art

The US Army Aviation Museum is at nearby Fort Novosel. It has one of the world's largest collections of helicopters. The museum shows over 100 years of Army aviation history.

The George Washington Carver Museum tells the story of this famous African-American scientist. It also shares information about African cultures and their impact on the world.

The Wiregrass Museum of Art is in the city's old power plant. It shows art exhibits. It has works by artists from the Southeastern U.S. and other famous artists.

Wiregrass Museum of Art

Theatre and Music

Southeast Alabama Community Theater offers live plays and shows. Spark Theater Company is a group that puts on plays with young people. They also teach theater classes.

The Dothan Opera House was built in 1915. It hosts plays, concerts, and ballet shows. Music South offers many types of music performances. These include classical, jazz, and other styles. "Music by Moonlight" offers free concerts at Landmark Park.

Patti Rutland Jazz is a professional dance company in Dothan. They perform jazz and hip-hop shows. They also offer free dance classes to young people in the area.

Public Art

• The Joseph statue at Millennium Park is a ten-foot bronze sculpture downtown. It represents the Bible verse that inspired the city's name.
• Peanuts Around Town is a fun art project. It has five-foot-tall peanut sculptures decorated in different ways. You can see them all around Dothan.
• "Wiregrass Festival of Murals" is an ongoing project. It features historic murals painted on downtown buildings.

Fun Places to Visit

• The Dothan Area Botanical Gardens has 50 acres of beautiful gardens and wooded areas.
• Landmark Park is a 135-acre park. It helps save the natural and cultural history of the Wiregrass Region. It's Alabama's official museum of agriculture.
• Highland Oaks Golf Course is part of Alabama's Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.
• The "World's Smallest City Block" is behind the Dothan City Civic Center.

Famous People from Dothan

• Johnny Mack Brown (1904–1974), a film actor
• Matt Cain (born 1984), a baseball pitcher
• Donna D'Errico (born 1968), an actress and model
• Trent Forrest (born 1998), an NBA player
• Bobby Goldsboro (born 1941), a singer and songwriter
• Clay Holmes (born 1993), a baseball pitcher
• Jamie Thomas (born 1974), a professional skateboarder
• Haywood Sullivan (1930–2003), a baseball catcher and team owner

Images for kids

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  Ross Clark Circle on Dothan's east side

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  Dothan Area Botanical Gardens