[4] 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.

[6] European-American settlers moving through the area during the late 18th and early 19th centuries discovered the Indian spring, naming it "Poplar Head".

The first permanent white settlers consisted of nine families who moved into the area during the early 1830s to harvest the abundant timber.

After the war, a local Pony Express route was founded; together with other developments during the Reconstruction Era, 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.

[3] On October 12, 1889,[7] Dothan was the scene of a deadly altercation resulting from a dispute over a tax levied on wagons operating within city limits.

[8] Chief of Police Tobe Domingus was found guilty of murder and sentenced to ten years in prison.

[11] 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, Michelin, and General Electric 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 city continued to flourish and grow throughout the twentieth century, with the Dothan Regional Airport being constructed in 1965 and Wallace Community College in 1969.

The topography is generally flat and forested, with few small hills that gradually slope downward towards the Chattahoochee River to the east and the gulf coastal plain to the south.

[23] They descended from members of the Cherokee and Creek peoples who occupied this area and resisted removal to Indian Territory in the 1830s.

Routes 84, 231, and 431 run through Dothan along various parts of Ross Clark Circle (AL-210), the bypass encircling the city.

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 51 mi (82 km) to Eufaula.

[45] Dothan does not have regularly scheduled public transportation, but offers dial-a-ride service through its nonprofit Wiregrass Transit Authority.

[51] The city is also home to two mosques,[52] two Wards of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints,[53] a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses.

DirecTV and Dish Network provide direct broadcast satellite television, including local and national channels.

[60] 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).

[64] The city served host to the Ultimate Fighting Championship on February 7, 1997, at the Dothan Civic Center Arena.

Agriculture is the largest industry, though retail sales and restaurants have experienced a rapid growth in recent years.

[70] Particularly brutal was the killing of a man at a local animal shelter over his refusal to show proper identification to police.

A large midway, entertainment by nationally known recording artists, and the largest parade in the area are featured attractions.

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.

The US Army Aviation Museum, at nearby Fort Novosel, houses one of the largest helicopter collections in the world.

The exhibits depict over 100 years of Army aviation, and include a number of life size dioramas, 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.

"Music by Moonlight" offers four free concerts per year at Dothan's Landmark Park, featuring classical, jazz, Celtic and bluegrass musicians, among others.

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,[84] as well as at Dothan's historical landmark Opera House.

Patti Rutland Jazz operates as a nonprofit 501(c)(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.