The Naming of Dothan
In 1858, the tiny Poplar Head community requested a post office. Since there was a town called Poplar Spring in the state, the postal authorities arbitrarily assigned the name Dothan to the new post office to prevent misdirected mail. Early maps and documents show the town name was spelled two different ways: Dothen and Dothan. The city fathers finally settled on the spelling to coincide with the Bible passage “For I heard them say ‘Let us go to Dothan’” (Genesis 37:17) when the town was officially incorporated on November 10, 1885.
Marker is on Museum Avenue, on the right when traveling north.
Courtesy hmdb.org
