Dothan is a city in and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Houston County in the
U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...
of
Alabama
Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...
. A slight portion of the city extends into
Dale and
Henry
Henry may refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Henry (given name), including lists of people and fictional characters
* Henry (surname)
* Henry, a stage name of François-Louis Henry (1786–1855), French baritone
Arts and entertainmen ...
counties. It had a population of 71,072 at the
2020 census,
making it Alabama's eighth-largest city by population and the 5th largest in Alabama by total area. It is near the state's southeastern corner, about west of
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
and north of
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. It is named after the
biblical city of Dothan.
Dothan is the principal city of the
Dothan, Alabama metropolitan area, which encompasses all of
Geneva
Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...
, Henry, and Houston counties; the small portion in Dale County is part of the
Ozark Micropolitan Statistical Area. Together they form the
Dothan-Ozark Combined Statistical Area. Coffee County and its Enterprise micropolitan area was originally combined as a statistical area with both Dothan and Ozark as well, but is now split off as its own
statistical area by the
US Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
. Together they form the Alabama portion of the
Wiregrass region, of which Dothan is that portion's largest city. The combined population of the entire Dothan metropolitan area in 2020 was 151,007.
The city is the main transportation and commercial hub for a significant part of southeastern Alabama, southwest Georgia, and nearby portions of the
Florida Panhandle
The Florida panhandle (also known as West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida. It is a Salient (geography), salient roughly long, bordered by Alabama on the west and north, Georgia (U.S. state ...
. Since approximately one-fourth of the U.S.
peanut
The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...
crop is produced nearby, much of it processed in the city, Dothan is known as "The Peanut Capital of the World". It also hosts the annual National Peanut Festival at the Peanut Festival Fairgrounds.
History
Earliest years
Between 1763 and 1783, the region that is now Dothan was part of the colony of
British West Florida
British West Florida was a colony of the Kingdom of Great Britain from 1763 until 1783, when it was ceded to Kingdom of Spain, Spain as part of the Peace of Paris (1783), Peace of Paris.
British West Florida comprised parts of the modern U.S ...
. European-American settlers moving through the area during the late 18th and early 19th centuries discovered the Indian spring, naming it "Poplar Head". Most felt that the sandy soil common to this region would be unsuitable for farming, so they moved on.
A crude
stockade
A stockade is an enclosure of palisades and tall walls, made of logs placed side by side vertically, with the tops sharpened as a defensive wall.
Etymology
''Stockade'' is derived from the French word ''estocade''. The French word was derived f ...
was constructed on the Barber Plantation, where settlers could take refuge whenever they felt threatened. Gradually the area received more white settlers. This fort disappeared by the 1840s, after the end of the
Indian Wars
The American Indian Wars, also known as the American Frontier Wars, and the Indian Wars, was a conflict initially fought by European colonial empires, the United States, and briefly the Confederate States of America and Republic of Texas agains ...
in Alabama and
Indian Removal in the 1830s, when most members of the
Five Civilized Tribes
The term Five Civilized Tribes was applied by the United States government in the early federal period of the history of the United States to the five major Native American nations in the Southeast: the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw, Muscogee (Cr ...
were forcibly taken to
Indian Territory
Indian Territory and the Indian Territories are terms that generally described an evolving land area set aside by the Federal government of the United States, United States government for the relocation of Native Americans in the United States, ...
west of the
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the main stem, primary river of the largest drainage basin in the United States. It is the second-longest river in the United States, behind only the Missouri River, Missouri. From its traditional source of Lake Ita ...
. Those members of the tribe who stayed in the southeast were considered to have given up their tribal memberships and became state and U.S. citizens.
The first permanent white settlers consisted of nine families who moved into the area during the early 1830s to harvest the abundant timber. Their settlement, named Poplar Head after the spring, failed to thrive. It was all but abandoned by the time of the
Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
. After the war, a local
Pony Express
The Pony Express was an American express mail service that used relays of horse-mounted riders between Missouri and California. It was operated by the Central Overland California and Pikes Peak Express Company.
During its 18 months of opera ...
route was founded; together with other developments during the
Reconstruction Era
The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...
, the town began to grow. On November 11, 1885, the citizens voted to
incorporate, naming their new city Dothan at the suggestion of a local clergyman after discovering that "Poplar Head" was already registered with the U.S. post office for a town in northern Alabama.
Civil unrest
On October 12, 1889, Dothan was the scene of a deadly altercation resulting from a dispute over a tax levied on wagons operating within city limits. Local farmers opposed the levy and united in a body called the "Farmers Alliance". The arrest of some of the alliance's men led to a riot that left two men dead and others seriously wounded. Chief of Police Tobe Domingus was found guilty of murder and sentenced to ten years in prison. Appeals to the
Alabama Supreme Court resulted in a new trial, and Domingus was acquitted.
Expansion and growth
In 1893, Dothan secured a stop on the first railroad to be built in the region. This development brought new prosperity and growth, as local farmers had a means to market and transport their produce. The pine forests were harvested for
turpentine
Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthine, terebenthene, terebinthine and, colloquially, turps) is a fluid obtainable by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Principall ...
and wood, which was transformed into ship masts,
lumber
Lumber is wood that has been processed into uniform and useful sizes (dimensional lumber), including beams and planks or boards. Lumber is mainly used for construction framing, as well as finishing (floors, wall panels, window frames). ...
and other wood products. As the pines were cut and land subsequently cleared,
cotton
Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...
was cultivated as a staple of the local economy. The crops were devastated by the
boll weevil in the early 1900s.
Farmers turned to
peanut
The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), goober pea, pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics by small and large ...
production, which was successful and brought financial gain to the city. It became a hub for the production and transport of peanuts and peanut-related products.
Today, one-quarter of the U.S. peanut crop is harvested within of Dothan.
Dothan also became a hub for industrial development in the 20th century, with textile and agricultural concerns being joined by manufacturing plants for the
Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at Sony City in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. The Sony Group encompasses various businesses, including Sony Corporation (electronics), Sony Semiconductor Solutions (i ...
,
Michelin
Michelin ( , ), in full ("General Company of the Michelin Enterprises P.L.S."), is a French multinational tyre manufacturing company based in Clermont-Ferrand in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes '' région'' of France. It is the second largest t ...
, and
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) was an American Multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in 1892, incorporated in the New York (state), state of New York and headquartered in Boston.
Over the year ...
corporations which began operating facilities in the city.

Dothan also sought out industrial development, with textile and agricultural concerns being joined by manufacturing plants for the Sony, Michelin, and General Electric corporations in the 20th century. The
Southern Company
Southern Company is an American gas and electric utility holding company based in the Southern United States. It is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with executive offices located in Birmingham, Alabama. As of 2021 it is the second largest ut ...
constructed the
Joseph M. Farley Nuclear Generating Station near the city between 1970 and 1981; this 1,776-megawatt facility currently generates approximately 13,000 GW-h per year. In 2010, Sony announced its closure of its Dothan plant. Pemco Aviation declared bankruptcy in March 2012 and in May that year announced the closing of its Dothan facility.
Originally part of
Henry County, Alabama, Dothan became the county seat of the newly formed Houston County on May 9, 1903. The city continued to flourish and grow throughout the twentieth century, with the
Dothan Regional Airport being constructed in 1965 and
Wallace Community College
Wallace Community College (WCC) (formally known as George C. Wallace Community College) is a public community college in Dothan, Alabama. It is named after the father of Alabama governor George Wallace
George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25 ...
in 1969.
Troy University established a Dothan campus in 1961 in the northwestern part of the city.
Porter Hardware, the oldest hardware store in the state of Alabama, was located in Dothan from 1889 to 2014. In 2018 it reopened as a museum.
Geography
Dothan is in northwestern Houston County in southeastern Alabama. The city limits extend north into
Henry County and northwest into
Dale County. According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has an area of , of which is land and , or 0.36%, is water.
It is located in the
Wiregrass region
The Wiregrass region, also known as the Wiregrass plains or Wiregrass country, is an area of the Southern United States encompassing parts of southern Georgia, southeastern Alabama, and the Florida Panhandle. The region is named for the native ' ...
of southeastern Alabama, near both the Florida and Georgia state lines. The topography is generally flat and forested, with few small hills that gradually slope downward towards the
Chattahoochee River
The Chattahoochee River () is a river in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern United States. It forms the southern half of the Alabama and Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia border, as well as a portion of the Florida and Georgia border. It ...
to the east and the gulf coastal plain to the south.
Climate
Dothan has a
humid subtropical climate
A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
(
Köppen Köppen is a German surname. Notable people with the surname include:
* Bernd Köppen (1951–2014), German pianist and composer
* Carl Köppen (1833-1907), German military advisor in Meiji era Japan
* Edlef Köppen (1893–1939), German author ...
''Cfa''). This produces hot, humid summers and generally mild winters, with daily average temperatures ranging from in the summer to during winter. Precipitation is plentiful throughout the year, ranging from in August, the wettest month, to in October, the driest month. Snowfall is extremely rare; a two-inch snowfall occurs about once every ten years, which results in a yearly average of ; the last major snow event occurred on
January 21, 2025. Other significant snow events in the city's history occurred in 1973, 1977, 1989, 1993, and 2010.
Tornadoes
A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...
are a frequent risk during the spring, summer and fall; the city's tornado activity is slightly below the Alabama state average, but 79% above the U.S. average.
Demographics
The state-recognized Cher-O-Creek Intra Tribal Indians were in Dothan. They descended from members of the
Cherokee
The Cherokee (; , or ) people are one of the Indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, they were concentrated in their homelands, in towns along river valleys of what is now southwestern ...
and
Creek peoples who occupied this area and resisted removal to Indian Territory in the 1830s.
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 71,072 people, 27,103 households, and 16,607 families residing in the city.
Government
Dothan is governed by a mayor and
city council
A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...
(called the "board of commissioners"), with a
city manager
A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city in the council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are referred to as the chief executive officer (CEO) or chief administ ...
employed to manage city affairs.
[City of Dothan](_blank)
Retrieved April 27, 2009. The city is divided into six council districts, with one commissioner elected from each
single-member district
A single-member district or constituency is an electoral district represented by a single officeholder. It contrasts with a multi-member district, which is represented by multiple officeholders.
In some countries, such as Australia and India ...
to a four-year term. Members of the commission serve part-time and are responsible for drafting all city ordinances and policies and appropriation of city funds. Dothan's mayor is elected at-large for four years and serves as a member of the board of commissioners. The city manager implements the board's policies and manages the city's day-to-day operations, including hiring, managing and firing the heads of city government departments. A total of 999 full-time and 215 part-time employees work for Dothan's city agencies, including police, fire, clerical, judicial, finance, public works and utilities.
As of 2024, the mayor was Mark Saliba and the city manager was Open. Larry H. Williams served as city fire chief and Will Benny was police chief.
Dothan is in
Alabama's 2nd congressional district; its representative (as of 2021) is
Barry Moore. The city is divided among three different state senate districts (28, 29 and 31) and four state representative districts (85, 86, 87 and 93).
Education
Most K-12 students in Dothan and Houston County attend
Dothan City Schools or
Houston County Schools
Houston County Schools is the County (United States), county government agency which operates the Public school (government funded), public schools in Houston County, Georgia, United States.
It is the only school district in the county. Text ...
. Others attend local private schools, such as
Houston Academy, Providence Christian School, Northside Methodist Academy, Emmanuel Christian School, and Westgate Christian School. Institutes of higher education include
Fortis College,
Troy University Dothan Campus,
Wallace Community College
Wallace Community College (WCC) (formally known as George C. Wallace Community College) is a public community college in Dothan, Alabama. It is named after the father of Alabama governor George Wallace
George Corley Wallace Jr. (August 25 ...
, Bethany Divinity College & Seminary, and the
Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine.
[
]
Infrastructure
Airport
Dothan Regional Airport is served by
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...
and Aero-One Aviation as of September 2017. The airport was established at the former Army airbase at
Napier Field
Napier Field is a town in Dale County, Alabama. At the 2020 census, the population was 409. It is part of the Ozark micropolitan statistical area. The town was originally constructed as a military air base during the Second World War. It is cu ...
in 1965, after then-Mayor Richmond McClintock started a push to move the airport in the early 1950s. Jet services began in 1968 with
Southern Airways' acquisition of
DC-9 aircraft, and continue today using the
CRJ-200 regional passenger jet.
Unlike many municipal airports in the U.S., the Dothan airport is entirely self-supporting, operating without tax-generated funding. All airport revenue is generated by rental and other user fees charged to patrons and tenants of the facility.
The airport serves as the local National Weather Service's weather observation station.
Roadways
U.S. Routes
84,
231, and
431 run through Dothan along various parts of
Ross Clark Circle (AL-210), the bypass encircling the city. U.S. 84 runs along the northern part of the bypass from west to east, leading east to
Bainbridge,
Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States
Georgia may also refer to:
People and fictional characters
* Georgia (name), a list of pe ...
and west to
Enterprise
Enterprise (or the archaic spelling Enterprize) may refer to:
Business and economics
Brands and enterprises
* Enterprise GP Holdings, an energy holding company
* Enterprise plc, a UK civil engineering and maintenance company
* Enterpris ...
. U.S. 231 runs along the western part of the bypass from south to north, leading northwest to
Troy
Troy (/; ; ) or Ilion (; ) was an ancient city located in present-day Hisarlik, Turkey. It is best known as the setting for the Greek mythology, Greek myth of the Trojan War. The archaeological site is open to the public as a tourist destina ...
and south to
Panama City
Panama City, also known as Panama, is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has a total population of 1,086,990, with over 2,100,000 in its metropolitan area. The city is located at the Pacific Ocean, Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, i ...
,
Florida
Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...
. U.S. 431 begins its path northward at the southern end of Ross Clark Circle, and runs along the eastern part of the bypass, leading north to
Eufaula. Other highways that run through Dothan include Alabama State Routes
52 and
53. Dothan is currently the only city in Alabama's top ten largest that does not have Interstate access, with the closest Interstate being
Interstate 10
Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...
that runs 32 miles to the south.
Transit
Although passenger trains no longer operate through Dothan, the 1907
Dothan station still stands.
Greyhound Bus Lines maintains a station in town. Dothan does not have regularly scheduled public transportation, but offers
dial-a-ride
Demand-responsive transport (DRT), also known as demand-responsive transit, demand-responsive service,
US National Trans ...
service through its nonprofit Wiregrass Transit Authority.
Religion
The largest Christian denomination in Dothan is the
Southern Baptist
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestantism in the United States, Pr ...
church. There are also
Anglican
Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...
,
Churches of Christ
The Churches of Christ, also commonly known as the Church of Christ, is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations located around the world. Typically, their distinguishing beliefs are that of the necessity of baptism for salvation ...
,
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...
,
Presbyterian
Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...
,
Lutheran
Lutheranism is a major branch of Protestantism that emerged under the work of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German friar and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practices of the Catholic Church launched ...
,
AME,
Freewill Baptist,
Episcopal,
United Pentecostal,
Assemblies of God
The World Assemblies of God Fellowship (WAGF), commonly known as the Assemblies of God (AG), is a global cooperative body or communion of over 170 Pentecostal denominations that was established on August 15, 1989. The WAGF was created to provi ...
,
Seventh-day Adventist
The Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA) is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbat ...
and various
Evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of th ...
churches serving Dothan's
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
community.
Saint Michael's Orthodox Church is an
Antiochian Orthodox Church, serving the Orthodox community in Dothan and the Wiregrass.
St. Columba Catholic Church serves Dothan's
Roman Catholics
The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
. Dothan hosts a
Reform Judaism
Reform Judaism, also known as Liberal Judaism or Progressive Judaism, is a major Jewish religious movements, Jewish denomination that emphasizes the evolving nature of Judaism, the superiority of its Jewish ethics, ethical aspects to its ceremo ...
synagogue, Temple Emanu-El, which became nationally famous in 2008 when the congregation offered Jewish families as much as $50,000 to relocate to Dothan to build up the community. The city is also home to two
mosque
A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard.
Originally, mosques were si ...
s, two wards of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Restorationism, restorationist Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, denomination and the ...
, and a Kingdom Hall of
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses is a Christian denomination that is an outgrowth of the Bible Student movement founded by Charles Taze Russell in the nineteenth century. The denomination is nontrinitarian, millenarian, and restorationist. Russell co-fou ...
.
Media
Dothan is served by a daily newspaper, the ''
Dothan Eagle'', a weekly newspaper, the ''Dothan Progress'', and a blog, ''Rickey Stokes News''. It has four television stations,
WRGX-LD 23 (
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
),
WDFX 34 (
FOX),
WDHN 18 (
ABC) and the oldest television station in southeastern Alabama,
WTVY 4 (
CBS/
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV (stylized as mynetworkTV; unofficially abbreviated MNT or MNTV) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its Fox Television Stations ...
/
CW).
WOW!,
Comcast
Comcast Corporation, formerly known as Comcast Holdings,Before the AT&T Broadband, AT&T merger in 2001, the parent company was Comcast Holdings Corporation. Comcast Holdings Corporation now refers to a subsidiary of Comcast Corporation, not th ...
and
Spectrum
A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...
(formerly
Time Warner Cable
Time Warner Cable Enterprises LLC was an American cable television company. Before it was acquired by Charter Communications on May 18, 2016, it was ranked the second largest cable company in the United States by revenue behind only Comcast, o ...
) provide
cable television
Cable television is a system of delivering television programming to consumers via radio frequency (RF) signals transmitted through coaxial cables, or in more recent systems, light pulses through fibre-optic cables. This contrasts with bro ...
service.
DirecTV
DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...
and
Dish Network
DISH Network L.L.C., often referred to as DISH, an abbreviation for Digital Sky Highway, is an American provider of satellite television and IPTV services and wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation.
The company was originally establ ...
provide
direct broadcast satellite
Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location.ITU Radio Regulations, Section IV. Radio Stations and Systems ...
television, including local and national channels. The city is also served by several radio stations; among the oldest is 560
WOOF-AM, which went on the air as an AM station in 1947; 99.7
WOOF-FM went on the air in 1964. As of 2020, the radio formats in Dothan are top 40/CHR/pop (106.7
WKMX), adult contemporary (107.7
W299BX, 99.7
WOOF-FM), classical (88.7
WRWA), Christian (94.3
WIZB), rock (100.5
WJRL-FM), classic hits (102.5
WESP), country (95.5
WTVY-FM, 105.3
WECB), rap/hip hop/urban (700/105.9
WARB/W290DG), urban adult contemporary (93.1
WBBK-FM), talk radio (103.9
WDBT), and sports (560/101.1/107.1
WOOF-AM/W261AT/W296DQ). ''Dothan Magazine'' offers a bimonthly, people-focused viewpoint of the Dothan area keeping readers up to date on the latest community events, trends and issues. Archived issues of ''Dothan Magazine'' are online.
Sports
Dothan hosted
minor league baseball
Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...
teams from 1915 to 1917, with the
Dothan team (AL-FL-GA League and
Dixie League) and from 1936 to 1962 (
AL-FL League,
GA-FL League and AL State League). Teams were known at varying times as the Boll Weevils,
Dothan Browns, Rebels, Cardinals and Phillies.
Major League affiliations were maintained in later years with the
St. Louis Cardinals
The St. Louis Cardinals are an American professional baseball team based in St. Louis. The Cardinals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Centra ...
and the
Philadelphia Phillies
The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. The Phillies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. Since 2004, the team's home stadium has ...
. All teams played at the "D" league level, a defunct minor-league classification that represented the entry or "rookie" level in the minors. Ballparks included Baker Field, City Park, Stadium Park, Jill Alexander Miracle Field and the Wiregrass Memorial Stadium.
The city served host to the
Ultimate Fighting Championship
The Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) is an American mixed martial arts (MMA) promoter (entertainment), promotion company based in Las Vegas, Nevada. It is owned and operated by TKO Group Holdings, a majority owned subsidiary of Endeavor ( ...
on February 7, 1997, at the Dothan Civic Center Arena.
Dothan was selected as one of 11 Alabama sites for a course on the
Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail.
In 2007–10, Dothan was recognized as part of the "Playful City USA" initiative by
KaBOOM!, created to honor cities that ensure that their children have great places to play.
Economy
Dothan has a diverse economy.
Agriculture
Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...
is the largest industry, though retail sales and restaurants have experienced a rapid growth in recent years. Peanut production remains a mainstay of the agricultural sector, but cotton is gaining in importance.
Tomato
The tomato (, ), ''Solanum lycopersicum'', is a plant whose fruit is an edible Berry (botany), berry that is eaten as a vegetable. The tomato is a member of the nightshade family that includes tobacco, potato, and chili peppers. It originate ...
production is significant as well, especially in the nearby town of
Slocomb, which styles itself "the Tomato Capital of the World".
Top employers
According to the city's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the city are:
Crime
According to records available on a police violence tracking website, police have killed 20 people directly or indirectly between 2000 and 2020. Most of the victims were shot, tasered or asphyxiated. Particularly brutal was the killing of a man at a local animal shelter over his refusal to show proper identification to police. A federal judge cleared the police officer after body camera footage showed that the man had taken the officer's taser and attempted to use it on the officer during an altercation. In 2021, the city of Dothan settled a lawsuit with a payment of $250,000.
Culture
Festivals
The National Peanut Festival occurs annually in November and attracts up to 200,000 visitors. The festival hosts a wide variety of carnival rides, games, live music, and competitions. A large midway, entertainment by nationally known recording artists, and the largest parade in the area are featured attractions. On the last day of the fair, a peanut festival parade takes place in downtown Dothan.
Dothan is also home to two professional
barbecue
Barbecue or barbeque (often shortened to BBQ worldwide; barbie or barby in Australia and New Zealand) is a term used with significant regional and national variations to describe various cooking methods that employ live fire and smoke to coo ...
competitions. The Tri-State BBQ Festival is held the second weekend in April, and is sanctioned by the Florida Bar-B-Que Association. It was begun in 2006 and is currently put on at the Houston County Farm Center. PorktoberQue, an Oktoberfest and Kansas City Barbeque Society (KCBS) sanctioned event, is held the last weekend of September in Dothan at the same location as the Peanut Festival.
Museums and monuments
The
US Army Aviation Museum
The United States Army Aviation Museum is an aviation museum located on Fort Novosel near Daleville, Alabama. It has the largest collection of helicopters held by a museum in the world.Phillips 1992, p. 37.Purner 2004, p. 204. The museum featur ...
, at nearby
Fort Rucker, houses one of the largest helicopter collections in the world. The museum focuses on the role of fixed and rotary-wing flight in the U.S. Army. The exhibits depict over 100 years of Army aviation, and include a number of life size
dioramas
A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional model either full-sized or miniature. Sometimes dioramas are enclosed in a glass showcase at a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies like Model ...
, films, and interpretive material.
The George Washington Carver Museum relates the story of the African-American genius and offers information on African cultures and their influences on the world, prominent African-American scientists, explorers and inventors, and the positive contributions African Americans have made in military affairs and social development.
The
Wiregrass Museum of Art, in the city's original power and water plant (1913), features ongoing exhibitions of visual and decorative art. Its permanent collection includes works by contemporary
Southeastern artists such as
Dale Kennington, Frank Flemming, Dale Lewis and Cal Breed, as well by nationally recognized artists including
Frank Stella
Frank Philip Stella (May 12, 1936 – May 4, 2024) was an American painter, sculptor, and printmaker, noted for his work in the areas of minimalism and post-painterly abstraction. He lived and worked in New York City for much of his career befor ...
and
Jim Dine. The museum was organized in 1989 by private citizens and the City of Dothan; it is operated by the Wiregrass Museum of Art, Inc., a 501(c)3 organization.
Art and theatre scene
Southeast Alabama Community Theater offers live entertainment and theatrical productions for the Dothan community.
Spark Theater Company is a nonprofit theater company and performing-arts educational program. Spark Theater offers several public theater productions each year by Dothan-area youth and teens, an after-school theater program, as well as supplemental theater classes for the public school system.
Notable public art
The ''Joseph'' statue at Millennium Park is a ten-foot cast
bronze
Bronze is an alloy consisting primarily of copper, commonly with about 12–12.5% tin and often with the addition of other metals (including aluminium, manganese, nickel, or zinc) and sometimes non-metals (such as phosphorus) or metalloid ...
sculpture in the downtown area. It represents the Bible verse "For I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan" (Genesis 37:17), on which the town based its name.
''Peanuts Around Town'' is a public art project organized by The Downtown Group, consisting of , life-sized peanut sculptures decorated in various fashions and displayed around Dothan.
"Wiregrass Festival of Murals" is an ongoing project offering historic murals painted by nationally and internationally acclaimed muralists on walls of buildings in the downtown historic district. Guided tours are available upon request.
Local music
The
Dothan Opera House, built in 1915, features theatre performances, concerts,
symphonies, ballet performances, and other cultural events. Tours are available upon request.
Music South, formerly the Southern Alabama Symphony Association, offers a wide variety of musical performances, from classical symphony performances to jazz, African and other musical styles. "Music by Moonlight" offers four free concerts per year at Dothan's Landmark Park, featuring classical, jazz, Celtic and bluegrass musicians, among others.
Patti Rutland Jazz is a professional contemporary jazz and hip-hop dance company in Dothan. The company produces two full-length jazz and hip-hop theatrical dance productions yearly (one in late February and one in early June) at its home in the Cultural Arts Center, as well as at Dothan's historical landmark Opera House. Patti Rutland Jazz operates as a nonprofit
501(c)
A 501(c) organization is a nonprofit organization in the federal law of the United States according to Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. § 501(c)). Such organizations are exempt from some federal income taxes. Sections 503 through 505 set o ...
(3) organization whose core mission is to offer its dancers to the Wiregrass Region to assist underserved youths with free dance classes. This mutually beneficial program hopes to make Dothan a destination for, and a source of, future professional dance talent in the United States.
Area attractions

* The Dothan Area Botanical Gardens include 50 acres (20 ha) of cultivated gardens and undeveloped wooded landscapes.
* Landmark Park is a 135-acre (55 ha) park built to preserve the natural and cultural heritage of southeast Alabama's Wiregrass Region and serves as 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 between North Appletree Street, North College Street, and East Troy Street.
Notable people
*
John Rainey Adkins (1941–1989), self-taught guitarist and songwriter
*
Johnny Mack Brown (1904–1974), film actor
*
Donna D'Errico
Donna Jeanette D'Errico (born March 30, 1968) is an American actress. She posed for ''Playboy'' as its Playmate of the Month for September 1995 and had a starring role (1996–1998) on the television series ''Baywatch''. She continues to act i ...
(born 1968), actress and model
*
Dancin' Dave (1927–2015), local street performer
*
Matt Cain (born 1984), Major League Baseball pitcher
*
Trent Forrest (born 1998), National Basketball Association player
*
Bobby Goldsboro (born 1941), singer and songwriter
*
Clay Holmes (born 1993), Major League Baseball pitcher
*
Jamie Thomas (born 1974), professional skateboarder
*
Haywood Sullivan (1930–2003), Major League Baseball catcher and owner
References
External links
*
Dothan Chamber of Commerce
Landmark Park
{{Coord, 31.227, -85.407, display=title
Cities in Alabama
Cities in Dale County, Alabama
Cities in Henry County, Alabama
Cities in Houston County, Alabama
County seats in Alabama
Dothan metropolitan area, Alabama
Enterprise–Ozark micropolitan area
Logging communities in the United States
Populated places established in the 1830s