Editing Dothan, Alabama (section)

===Expansion and growth===
{{anchor|National Peanut Festival}}
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]] and wood, which was transformed into ship masts, [[lumber]] and other wood products. As the pines were cut and land subsequently cleared, [[cotton]] 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]] 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.<ref name="central"/> Today, one-quarter of the U.S. peanut crop is harvested within {{convert|75|mi|km}} of Dothan.<ref name="central">{{cite web |url=http://gardencentral.org/alabama/nss-folder/namethisfolder/History_of_Dothan.pdf |title=Dothan History |publisher=gardencentral.org |access-date=April 26, 2009 }}{{dead link|date=September 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>
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.

[[File:Dothan Alabama Downtown 01.jpg|thumb|Looking up Foster St. toward downtown Dothan]]

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]] 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.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.world-nuclear.org/reactor/default.aspx/FARLEY-1 | title=FARLEY-1 - World Nuclear Association }}</ref> 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]] in 1969. [[Troy University]] established a Dothan campus in 1961 in the northwestern part of the city.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://dothan.troy.edu/ | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111030021513/http://dothan.troy.edu/ | archive-date=October 30, 2011 | title=Troy University Dothan Campus }}</ref>

[[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.<ref>{{cite news|title=Porter Hardware opens in Downtown Dothan as a museum |publisher=[[WTVY (TV)|WTVY]]|url=https://www.wtvy.com/content/news/Porter-Hardware-opens-in-Downtown-Dothan-as-a-museum--482407901.html|date=2018-05-11|author=Huffman, Dillon}}</ref>