Dothan historical markers tell of city's early history, famous opera house

Dothan Opera House and nearby historical markers.

This week’s featured historical marker is the “THE FOUNDING OF DOTHAN, ALABAMA” marker in Houston County, Alabama. This marker is located on North St. Andrews Street in Dothan, between the Dothan Civic Center and the Dothan Opera House.

This marker was erected in May 2010 by the Alabama Tourism Department and the City of Dothan. There’s text on both sides of this marker, and both sides are different. What follows is the complete text from the marker.

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“THE FOUNDING OF DOTHAN, ALABAMA: In the late 1700s and 1800s, horse and ox-drawn covered wagons from Charleston, Savannah and Jacksonville traveled across the South as pioneer families searched for a place to build new homes and to start a new life. Those pioneers, who passed through the vast pine forests in the southeast corner of the territory that was to later become the state of Alabama, would often stop at a spring known as Poplar Head. Poplar Head, named for the poplar trees that encircled the glade where the cool water, or ‘head’ (as springs were often called) welled from the earth. It was where ancient Indian trails met, crossed and then continued on. The glade where the spring was located was often used by Indians from the various tribes of the Creek Confederacy as a meeting place and a campground. By 1885, the hamlet had grown into a village. (Continued on other side)”

“THE FOUNDING OF DOTHAN, ALABAMA: (Continued from other side) The new settlers realized that if the community’s growth was to be sustained, they would need a governing body and local law enforcement. On Nov. 10, 1885, the people of Poplar Head voted to incorporate and took Dothan as the town’s new name since they already was a Poplar Head, Alabama. The name came from Genesis 37:17, “…for I heard them say, Let us go to Dothan.”

“’A writer can put on paper the history of the town, but the history belongs to those who not only lived through the years documented, but who formed and molded our town into the city we know as Dothan.’ ~ ‘Dothan, A Pictorial History.’ 1984, by Wendell H. Stepp and daughter Pamela Ann Stepp.”

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Across the street from this historical marker is another historical marker in front of the Dothan Opera House. That historical marker was erected by the Historic Chattahoochee Commission in 1978. It reads as follows:

“DOTHAN OPERA HOUSE: Listed on the National Register of Historic Places by the Department of the Interior, Dec. 16, 1977, through the efforts of the Dothan Landmarks Foundation, Inc. Constructed in 1915, this three-story masonry structure remains basically unaltered from its original plan. It has had an important cultural influence on Dothan, attracting from its early days, a wide variety of performing groups. It was completely renovated and restored in 1971. This splendid building, long noted for its fine acoustics, has seen a revival of its original cultural activities.”

In the end, visit this site next Wednesday to learn about another historical marker. I’m also taking suggestions from the reading audience, so if you know of an interesting historical marker that you’d like me to feature, let me know in the comments section below.