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Super Dimension Fortress Macross

Super Dimension Fortress Macross (超時空要塞マクロス) is an anime television series from 1982. According to story creator Shoji Kawamori, it depicts "a love triangle against the backdrop of great battles" during the first Human-alien war. It is the first part of: The Super Dimension trilogy and the Macross franchise.

Macross features mechanical designs by Kazutaka Miyatake and Shoji Kawamori (both of Studio Nue) and character designs by Haruhiko Mikimoto of Artland. Macross also created one of the first anime idols Lynn Minmay, turning her voice actress Mari Iijima into an instant celebrity, and launching her musical career. Most of its animation (with edited content, story changes and revised dialogue) was adapted in the US for the first saga of Robotech.

Plot
In 1999, a city-sized alien spacecraft crashes in South Ataria Island on Earth. Over the course of 10 years the military organization U.N. Spacy reverse-engineers its technology and rebuilds the spacecraft, naming it the SDF-1 Macross. In 2009 at the launch ceremony of the Macross, a young civilian pilot, Hikaru Ichijyo, comes to visit the Macross upon U.N. Spacy pilot Roy Focker's request. During the launch ceremony, a space war fleet from an alien race of humanoid giants arrives into the solar system and identifies the Macross as a former battleship used by their enemies, the Supervision Army. As the aliens, known as the Zentradi, approach the Macross, the original systems override the crew's commands and fire its main cannon, wiping out the advance alien scouts and starting a war. While Hikaru takes the new VF-1 Valkyrie on a test flight the aliens retaliate. He then encounters Lynn Minmay and rescues her from the aliens. The Macross crew attempts to use the experimental "Fold System" (faster-than-light drives) to escape to the Moon's orbit, but instead it accidentally takes the Macross and South Ataria Island to the edge of the solar system. The people from the Macross salvage everything they can, including the city surrounding the ship and its civilians (who have survived in special safety shelters, which were transported along intact), and attach two aircraft carriers to the ship. Since the fold systems have vanished after the jump, the Macross is forced to make its way back to Earth by conventional power.

The Zentradi suspect the humans might be their creators, the Protoculture. Under the command of Britai Kridanik and Exsedol Folmo, they plot ways to understand them. Fearful of their old combat directives of not interfering with Protoculture, the Zentradi perform attacks to test their theories about the people on board the Macross, and even have their Zentradi soldiers "micloned" (miniaturized) to learn more about their culture. The Zentradi capture several Macross personnel, including Officer Misa Hayase and Hikaru, to study. Boddole Zer, Supreme Commander of the Zentradi, is puzzled over things such as relationships amongst males and females. He confirms that the Miclones "are" Protoculture during a demonstrated kiss between Hayase and Hikaru. After escaping, Hikaru and the others report their findings to their superiors, who have trouble accepting the reasons behind the Zentradi attacks as well as the huge forces the aliens possess.

After much difficulty returning to Earth, the UN Spacy refuses to allow the Macross and the civilian passengers to return to land. Minmay's cousin, Lynn Kaifun, decides to join the Macross to see his parents and also look after Minmay. Because of Kaifun's relationship and constant contact with Minmay, the pair eventually enter a romantic relationship. After deliberation, the UN Spacy orders the Macross to leave Earth as a means to get the Zentradi away from them. During all these events, a female Zentradi ace fighter pilot, Milia Fallyna, is micloned and attempts to assassinate Maximilian Jenius, an ace UN Spacy pilot. Attempting to kill him during a knife duel, Milia is defeated and falls in love with Max, and the two are subsequently married. Their wedding aboard the Macross is broadcast to the Zentradi as a message that aliens and humans can co-exist. Since the Zentradi's exposure to culture and to Lynn Minmay's songs, some of them become eager to join the humans. Believing the "miclone contamination" is becoming a threat to all Zentradi forces, Boddole Zer orders his entire army to exterminate the human race and all those Zentradi previously exposed to human culture. Because Britai Kridanik was "contaminated" as well, he works with the humans to defeat the main Zentradi forces.

The resulting battle culminates in the large scale devastation of Earth, but the people of the SDF-1 survive. After Boddole Zer is killed and his armada defeated, the surviving humans and their Zentradi allies begin rebuilding Earth.

Two years after the end of the first Space War the transition into the Human ways becomes difficult to some Zentradi who cannot stand the idea of a pacified life. Quamzin Kravshera constantly incites conflicts towards the civilians. He repairs a damaged Zentradi warship to return to his old ways and attacks the new Macross City built around the SDF-1. Moments before the final Zentradi attack, Misa Hayase tells Hikaru Ichijyo of her feelings for him and her decision to leave to space in a colonization mission to preserve human culture across the galaxy. Lynn Minmay, who was left by Kaifun and now loves Hikaru, does not want him to leave to join the fight. However, Hikaru still goes to defend the city anyway. Eventually Quamzin is killed. After a long emotional conflict Hikaru finally decides to be with Misa and join the colonization mission, but the two remain good friends with Minmay in the end.

Episode list

 * Note: When Macross was first put in production, the anime was going to end with a total of 24 episodes, but due to popularity, it was expanded to a total of 36 episodes.

Sequels and prequel
A number of sequels and one prequel to the series have been produced.

Production
The series title uses the name of the main spacecraft (which is usually shortened to Macross as it is Earth's first Super Dimension Fortress). The original name for the Macross project was Battle City Megaload (or Battle City Megaroad, as the Japanese transliteration to either $⟨l⟩$ or $⟨r⟩$ gives the title a double meaning in reference to the story line: Megaload, referring to the spacecraft containing an entire city of people; and Megaroad, referring to the long journey through space back to Earth). However, the director of Big West, one of the later sponsors of the project, was a fan of Shakespeare and wanted the series and the spacecraft to be named Macbeth (Makubesu (マクベス)). A compromise was made with the title Macross (Makurosu (マクロス)) due to its similar pronunciation to Macbeth in Japanese and because it still contained connotations to the original title. The word Macross also comes from a wordplay combination of the prefix "macro" in reference to its massive size (though when compared with the alien ships in the series, it is only a relatively small capital ship) and the distance they must cross.

"Super Dimension Fortress" prefix ("Chō Jikū Yōsai") is a wordplay on an intermediary working title for the series, which was originally "Super Dreadnought Fortress Macross" ("Chō Dokyū Yōsai Makurosu").

Originally proposed in 1980 and greatly inspired by Mobile Suit Gundam (1979-1980), the show created by Studio Nue (from an original concept by newcomer member Shoji Kawamori) was initially sponsored by a group called the "Wiz" (Uizu) Corporation that was prepared to fund a 48-episode run. "Wiz" wanted to produce the Sci-Fi show as an outer space comedy, but this clashed with Studio Nue's original idea of a more serious and epic "space opera" storyline. The resulting animosity between both companies made the initial pre-production of the series very difficult and full of delays.

However, by 1981 Wiz had gone out of business and the "Megaload/Megaroad" (Macross) project seemed to be in permanent hiatus. Studio Nue bought the rights of the show from "Wiz" and searched for a sponsor with no avail. Big West, an advertising agency looking to branch out into animation sponsorship, approached Studio Nue about the project and agreed to sponsor it. Big West insisted on a leaner budget, not convinced that the show would pan out as profitable and pared the episode count to 27 episodes (meaning the show would have ended with the battle against Boddole Zer's fleet). Even then, Big West found that the show was going to run more expensive than it had bargained for, and to secure more money, entered into a partnership with animation studio Tatsunoko Production which included international distribution (what would culminate in the creation of the "Robotech" adaptation a few years later).

When Macross debuted on 3 October 1982 (with only three episodes made so far) its stunning success among Japanese television audiences convinced Big West to approve an extension to 36 episodes, allowing the staff to end with the "two years after" story arc.

Animation work was contracted out to a number of sub-contracting studios, including Artland (Haruhiko Mikimoto's employer), the nascent AIC and Gainax studios, as well as the Tatsunoko-supplied AnimeFriend and Star Pro. AnimeFriend and Star Pro are infamously notorious among fans of the show for having brought in very spotty, off-model and continuity error-laden animation work.

There were plans for a splashy ending to the series, one that would have shown major characters Misa Hayase and Hikaru Ichijo blasting off in the colonization ship SDF-2 Megaroad-01, but the sequence was scrapped due to lack of time and budget. However, due to fan demand this sequence was later used in the Macross Flashback 2012 OVA released in 1987.

Super Dimension Fortress Macross was produced as the first of the three Super Dimension mecha anime television series in Japan. It was followed by Super Dimension Century Orguss (1983) and Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross (1984). These shows were related in name only.

Anime
In 1984, Harmony Gold licensed the first Macross series from Tatsunoko and planned to dub the series on home video. In 1985, Harmony Gold, without permission from Studio Neu or Big West, edited and rewrote the series with The Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross and Genesis Climber Mospeada, collectively releasing them as Robotech, to syndicate on weekday television and to promote a Revell model line. Robotech's credits listed only the English adaptation's production crew and two Tatsunoko producers. No mention of the creators is shown in the credits. In 1999, Harmony Gold asserted it had exclusive rights to the "distribution of the Macross television series and the right to create and authorize the sale of merchandise based on such series" outside Japan, and began sending cease-and-desist letters to import toy dealers, temporarily barring Macross-related merchandise from North America.

The merchandise has since been imported again by the same toy dealers in direct sales.

In 2000, Big West and Studio Nue took Tatsunoko Productions to the Tokyo District Court over who had the rights to the first Macross series, due to Harmony Gold's attempt to bar Japanese Macross merchandise in North America the previous year. During production, Big West entered into a partnership with Tatsunoko to assist in the production of the series in a deal where it acquired the license to distribute the show worldwide (i.e., outside Japan), as well as earning some royalties to the merchandise. Tatsunoko then sub-licensed Macross to Harmony Gold USA in 1984. In 2002, the Tokyo District Court ruled that Big West/Studio Nue is the sole owner of the original character and mecha designs for the first series, while that same court ruled in 2003 that Tatsunoko owned the production rights to the first series.

In 2001 the series was sub-licensed in North America by AnimEigo, who restored the series and released it unedited on DVD with Japanese audio and English subtitles. At first a limited edition pre-order boxset across nine discs was released on 21 December 2001. Preorders were available on AnimEigo's web store. Three smaller boxsets, each comprising three discs, were released from 10 September 2002. Finally, AnimEigo released nine individual volumes. In 2003 Madman Entertainment released a six-disc PAL format version of this edition entitled Macross Ultimate Collection.

In the summer of 2005, ADV Films announced that it would be releasing an English dub of Macross on 10 January 2006. This is the first uncut, unedited English dub for Super Dimension Fortress Macross, and featured Mari Iijima returning to reprise the role of Lynn Minmay. This version was released by Hulu for online streaming in the United States in February 2010 and was removed in February 2013.

On April 8, 2021, Harmony Gold and Big West reached an agreement to allow Big West to release Macross globally.

Manga
Four manga adaptations of the TV series by different artists were serialized in 1982. A new manga adaptation called Super Dimension Fortress Macross: The First (超時空要塞マクロス THE FIRST) began releasing in Japan in 2009. It is a comic format alternate telling of the events in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross (with modern character and mecha designs) that was serialized in the Macross Ace manga magazine until its cancellation, being moved to Newtype Ace manga magazine until its cancellation, then to ComicWalker online magazine, and then to Cygames Psychomi online magazine. It was collected into six volumes. The artist for the new manga series is Haruhiko Mikimoto, who was the character designer for the original Macross.

Video games
A game based on the TV series called The Super Dimension Fortress Macross was released for the Japanese Nintendo Family Computer console in 1985 by video game company Namco.

Years later Bandai released The Super Dimension Fortress Macross 3D shooting game in October 2003 in Japan for the Sony PlayStation 2 console. This game had levels based in both the TV series and its movie adaptation.

More recently, a new 3D shooting game called Macross Ace Frontier included several elements from the original series. It was developed by Artdink for the Sony PSP and was released in 2008.

Reception and legacy
In the Anime Encyclopedia, authors Jonathan Clements and Helen McCarthy called the series "One of the three unassailable pillars of anime sci-fi, pioneering the tripartite winning formula of songs, battling robot-planes and tense relationships".

Super Dimension Fortress Macross was the basis for two different animated franchises, Macross in Japan and Robotech in North America. In Japan, Super Dimension Fortress Macross spawned an animated film adaptation, Macross: Do You Remember Love? (1984), and a number of sequels, including Macross Plus (1994), Macross 7 (1994), Macross Frontier (2007) and Macross Delta (2015). In North America, Super Dimension Fortress Macross was adapted into the first saga of the Robotech television series (1985–1986), called The Macross Saga, which spawned the Robotech franchise. Robotech was influential in the Western world, helping to introduce the anime medium to North America. In 1996, Hyper magazine reviewed The Macross Saga, rating it 10 out of 10.

Macross popularized the concept of transforming mecha, which can transform between a standard vehicle (such as a fighter plane or transport truck) and a fighting mecha robot. Shōji Kawamori introduced the concept with Diaclone in 1980 and then popularized it with Macross. Kawamori then went on to design transforming mecha for Transformers (1986). The transforming mecha concept became popular in the mid-1980s, with Macross: Do You Remember Love? and Zeta Gundam (1985) in Japan, and with Robotech and Transformers in the West. Transformers went on to influence the Hollywood movie industry.

In contrast to earlier mecha anime which focused on combatants, Macross portrayed a mecha conflict from the perspective of non-combatant civilians, such as the fictional singer Lynn Minmay. She went on to become the first virtual idol. Voiced by Mari Iijima, Minmay was the first fictional idol singer to garner major real-world success, with the theme song "Do You Remember Love?" (from the film Macross: Do You Remember Love?) reaching number seven on the Oricon music charts in Japan. This was later further explored in Macross Plus with the virtual idol Sharon Apple, an artificial intelligence (AI) computer program who takes the form of an intergalactic pop star, and in Macross 7 with the virtual band Fire Bomber who became a commercial success and spawned multiple CDs released in Japan. Macross set the template for later virtual idols in the early 21st century, such as Hatsune Miku and Kizuna AI.

Another innovative character concept in Macross was the role of Misa Hayase, who was one of the main commanders of the Macross battleship. She was the boss and commanding officer of the fighter pilot protagonist Hikaru Ichijyo, and later his love interest. This was a scenario Kawamori came up with which he had not seen in any Hollywood movies before. A similar scenario, however, later appeared in the Hollywood movie Top Gun (1986). According to Kawamori, "Many people pointed out that later films like Top Gun copied that idea and setting, as well as including the combination of many songs and fighters too."

For the video game Devil May Cry 4, motion and voice actor Reuben Langdon was told to be cockier than his younger persona, albeit more mature. Despite the staff's concerns for the difficulties of such a portrayal, Langdon had no issues after choosing Roy Focker from The Super Dimension Fortress Macross as his character model and noting he had almost the same age as Dante during the production of the game.

title: Super Dimension Fortress Macross


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Colony, Alabama

Colony is a town in Cullman County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 268, down from 385 in 2000. Colony is a historically African-American town. In its early days it was a haven for African Americans in the Deep South. It incorporated in 1981.

Geography
Colony is located in southern Cullman County at 33.945°N, -86.89944°W (33.945011, -86.899465), about 1 mi north of the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River. The town is located along Alabama State Route 91, approximately one mile west of Interstate 65.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.9 km2, of which 0.02 km2, or 0.40%, is water.

History
Colony most likely was originally established soon after the emancipation of slaves after the Civil War, during Reconstruction. It is believed that the original settlers of the town were most likely freed slaves from Baltimore, Alabama. It is the only African American community in Cullman County, which was founded in 1873, and was considered a safe haven for Blacks at a time when other cities with white majorities were considered dangerous for Blacks, and referred to as 'sundown' cities because after sundown Blacks were in danger there. Those that originally settled there were given land as compensation for being slaves, with over 8,000 acres eventually cultivated as farm land.

In the early days of Colony it was not considered part of Cullman County because the freed Blacks were not welcome. But when coal mines began to open adjacent to Colony the leaders of Cullman County wanted to incorporate the coal mines into the county for economic reasons, and were forced to add Colony as well. Colony was incorporated as a town in 1981 during the tenure of Mayor Earlene Johnson. The town celebrates Colony Day annually in August.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 264 people, 188 households, and 123 families residing in the town.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 385 people, 130 households, and 99 families residing in the town. The population density was 171.6 PD/sqmi. There were 154 housing units at an average density of 68.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 5.71% White, 93.51% Black or African American, 0.26% Native American, 0.26% from other races, and 0.26% from two or more races. 0.78% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 130 households, out of which 27.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.9% were married couples living together, 23.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.8% were non-families. 20.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.92 and the average family size was 3.41.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.0% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 27.3% from 25 to 44, 24.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $32,708, and the median income for a family was $35,417. Males had a median income of $24,821 versus $19,125 for females. The per capita income for the town was $12,415. About 12.0% of families and 12.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.5% of those under age 18 and 41.3% of those age 65 or over.

Notable person

 * James C. Fields, member of the Alabama House of Representatives from 2008 to 2010

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: Colony, Alabama


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Cullman, Alabama

Cullman is the largest city and county seat of Cullman County, Alabama, United States. It is located along Interstate 65, about 50 mi north of Birmingham and about 55 mi south of Huntsville. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 18,213, with an estimated population of 19,251 in 2022.

History
Before European colonization, the area that today includes Cullman was originally in the territory of the Cherokee Nation. The region was traversed by a trail known as the Black Warrior's Path, which led from the Tennessee River near the present location of Florence, Alabama, to a point on the Black Warrior River south of Cullman. This trail figured significantly in Cherokee history, and it featured prominently in the American Indian Wars prior to the establishment of the state of Alabama and the relocation of several American Indian tribes, including the Creek people westward along the Trail of Tears. During the Creek War in 1813, General Andrew Jackson of the U.S. Army dispatched a contingent of troops down the trail, one of which included the frontiersman Davy Crockett.

In the 1820s and the 1830s, two toll roads were built linking the Tennessee Valley to present-day Birmingham. In 1822, Abraham Stout was given a charter by the Alabama Legislature to open and turnpike a road beginning from Gandy's Cove in Morgan County to the ghost town of Baltimore on the Mulberry Fork near Colony. The road passed near present-day Vinemont through Cullman, Good Hope, and down the current Interstate 65 corridor to the Mulberry Fork. The road was later extended to Elyton (Birmingham) in 1827. It then became known as Stout's Road. Mace Thomas Payne Brindley was given a charter in 1833 to turnpike two roads, one running between Blount Springs to Somerville by way of his homestead in present-day Simcoe, and the second road passing west of Hanceville and east of Downtown Cullman to join Stout's Road north of the city. What later became the Brindley Turnpike became an extension of Stout's Road to Decatur. Cullman later became located between the juncture of the two roads, and they predated the corridor of U.S. Route 31.

During the Civil War, the future location of Cullman was the site of the minor Battle of Day's Gap. On April 30, 1863, Union forces under the command of Colonel Abel Streight won a victory over forces under Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest. This battle was part of a campaign and chase known collectively as Streight's Raid. Although Streight got the upper hand in this battle, Forrest would have the last laugh. In one of the more humorous moments of the war, Streight sought a truce and negotiations with Forrest in present-day Cherokee County near present-day Gaylesville. Although Streight's force was larger than Forrest's, while the two were negotiating, Forrest had his troops march repeatedly in a circuitous route past the site of the talks. Thinking himself to be badly outnumbered, Streight surrendered to Forrest.

Cullman itself was founded in 1873 by Colonel John G. Cullmann, a German immigrant. Cullmann had been an advocate of democratic reforms in his native Bavaria, having fought and acquired his honorific title "Colonel" during the Revolutions of 1848–49. After the failure of the revolution, Cullmann found himself in financial ruin. In the years to follow, he would try to re-establish himself in business, but after several setbacks, including a great financial loss in the First Schleswig War, he would remain unsuccessful. As time went on and Prussia, under King Wilhelm I and his Minister President Otto von Bismarck, began to exert more influence in the German region (eventually unifying Germany under Prussian rule in 1871), Cullmann began to believe that his political ideals were fundamentally incompatible with those of the German Government. As a result, he decided to emigrate from his homeland. Settling first in London due to fears that he would be forced to join in the ongoing American Civil War, Cullmann eventually came to America in 1865. He moved to Alabama in 1871 and, in 1873, negotiated an agreement to act as agent for a tract of land 349000 acre in size, owned by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad Company, on which he established a colony for German immigrants.

Five German families moved to the area in March 1873; in 1874, the town was incorporated and named after Colonel Cullmann (with the town name being Americanized to 'Cullman' with one 'n'). Over the next 20 years, Cullmann encouraged around 100,000 Germans to immigrate to the United States, with many settling in the Cullman area. Cullmann drew on his military engineering training in laying out and planning the town. During this period, Cullman underwent considerable growth. German continued to be widely spoken, and Cullmann himself was the publisher of a German-language newspaper. When Cullmann died in 1895, at the age of 72, his funeral was marked by the attendance of Governor William C. Oates. The site Cullmann selected for his headquarters is now his gravesite.

German immigrants also founded St. Bernard's Monastery, on the grounds of which is the Ave Maria Grotto, containing 125 miniature reproductions of some of the most famous religious structures of the world. It is Cullman's principal tourist attraction.

From the 1890s until the 1950s, Cullman was a sundown town, where African Americans were not allowed to live. The Ku Klux Klan would maintain a presence in the county throughout the civil rights movement, erecting signs that deterred African Americans from being within the county at night. This subsequently led to a rise in population of Colony, Alabama which was a safe haven for the discriminated.

For many years Cullman was a college town, with Saint Bernard College serving as the home of several hundred students. In the mid-1970s, St. Bernard briefly merged with Sacred Heart College (a two-year Benedictine women's college), to become Southern Benedictine College. That college closed in 1979, and it now operates as St. Bernard Preparatory School, serving grades 9–12. The former site of Sacred Heart College is now the Sacred Heart Monastery, which serves as a retreat center operated by the Benedictine Sisters of Sacred Heart Monastery.

During the 20th century, Cullman developed a more diverse economy, including several manufacturing and distribution facilities. The City of Cullman regularly ranks as a top 'micropolitan' city in the nation.

Cullman gained national attention in early 2008, when a special election was held to fill a vacancy in the Alabama House of Representatives. The district that included Cullman elected James C. Fields, an African-American, in that special election.

Cullman's German heritage was repressed during World War I and World War II, while the United States was fighting Germany. This was reversed in the 1970s, with renewed interest in the city's history and heritage. Today, Cullman holds an annual Oktoberfest. An honorary "Bürgermeister" is elected for each Oktoberfest. For many years the Oktoberfest did not include alcohol because Cullman was dry, but starting in 2011 the Oktoberfest was able to offer beer.

Geography
Cullman is located on top of the Brindley Mountain plateau at 34.17639°N, -86.84028°W (34.1764162, -86.8403857). This is a close offshoot of the long geographic ridge called Sand Mountain, a southmost extension of the Appalachian Mountains. The elevation is 814 ft, close to the watershed between the Tennessee River and the Black Warrior River. Cullman provides its own town water supply from a city-owned lake within the city limits, Lake Catoma.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 24.046 sqmi, of which 22.704 sqmi is land and 1.342 sqmi, is water.

New zoning laws and alcohol ordinances have allowed for greater expansion and growth in the downtown Cullman area.

Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Cullman has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Severe weather
Downtown was significantly damaged by an EF4 tornado during the 2011 Super Outbreak. Hitting on April 27, it destroyed many buildings in downtown and in an east-side residential area, but caused no fatalities. The twister moved northeast towards Arab and Guntersville, killing two Cullman County residents and at least four others. Cullman has since rebuilt and revitalized the downtown area.

Education
The Cullman City School System operates five schools:

 * Cullman Primary School (pre-K – second grade)
 * East Elementary (third – fifth grade)
 * West Elementary (third – sixth grade)
 * John G. Cullman Middle School (sixth and eighth grades)
 * Cullman High School (ninth – twelfth grade)

Other schools in Cullman include:

 * Saint Bernard Preparatory School, Benedictine boarding and day school (ninth – twelfth grade)
 * Saint Bernard Middle School (seventh and eighth grade)
 * Sacred Heart Elementary School (pre-K – sixth grade)
 * Saint Paul's Lutheran School (Pre-K – sixth grade)
 * Cullman Christian School (pre-K – twelfth grade)

Cullman is also the home of Wallace State Community College in Hanceville.

2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 18,213 people, 7,445 households, and 4,614 families residing in the city. There were 8,023 housing units.

2010 census
The population density was 765.0 PD/sqmi. There were 6,957 housing units at an average density of 365.1 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 95% White, 0.8% Black or African American, 0.5% Native American, 0.6% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, and 1.6% from two or more races. 6.8% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

As of the 2010 census, there were 14,775 people and 6,957 households, out of which 22.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.3% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.9% were non-families. 35.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.85.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.8% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 25.3% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 22.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $29,164, and the median income for a family was $41,313. Males had a median income of $32,863 versus $21,647 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,484. About 9.4% of families and 13.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.3% of those under age 18 and 18.5% of those age 65 or over.

Cullman was ranked among Bloomberg Businessweek ' s 50 Best Places to Raise Your Kids in 2012 based on the city's educational and economic factors, crime level, air quality, amenities, and ethnic diversity.

Radio stations

 * WFMH 1340 AM (Sports/Talk)
 * WKUL 92.1 FM (Country/Talk)
 * WRJM-LP 95.5 FM (CHR/AAA/Variety)
 * WMCJ 1460 AM (Southern Gospel)
 * WXJC-FM 101.1 FM (Gospel/Talk)

Newspapers

 * The Cullman Times (daily)
 * The Cullman Tribune (daily)

Television
Cullman is in the TV broadcasting areas of Birmingham and Huntsville, Alabama.

There are two low-power broadcasting stations in Cullman: WCQT-LD TV-27 and CATV-2. Cullman also has a PEG station, CCTV55, which is run by students at Cullman High School. CCTV55 was known as CATS-55 at one time.

Health care

 * Cullman Regional Medical Center – a 115-bed hospital

Transportation

 * [[Image:I-65.svg|25px]] Interstate 65
 * [[Image:US 31.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 31
 * [[Image:US 278.svg|25px]] U.S. Highway 278
 * [[Image:Alabama 69.svg|25px]] State Route 69
 * [[Image:Alabama 157.svg|25px]] State Route 157
 * CSX Transportation (railroad)
 * Folsom Field municipal airport

Notable people

 * JoJo Billingsley, singer/songwriter
 * Wesley Britt, former NFL player
 * Paul Burnum, former basketball and baseball coach
 * Paul Bussman, member of the Alabama Senate
 * Caleb Clay, former MLB pitcher
 * Melinda Dillon, actress
 * Jamelle Folsom, First Lady of Alabama 1948–1951 and 1955–1959
 * James E. "Big Jim" Folsom, Governor of Alabama 1947–1951 and 1955–1959
 * James E. "Little Jim" Folsom Jr., Governor of Alabama 1993–1995, Lieutenant Governor of Alabama 1987–1993 and 2007–2011
 * Morgan Smith Goodwin, actress
 * Roger Hallmark, country musician
 * Kurt Heinecke, composer and voice actor
 * Charles Kleibacker, fashion designer
 * Jordan Lee, bass fisherman
 * Harold E. Martin, journalist and Pulitzer Prize winner
 * William C. Martin, physicist
 * Julian L. McPhillips, candidate for Attorney General of Alabama in 1978
 * David Miller, NFL player
 * Kassie Miller, singer/songwriter
 * Talmadge Prince, stock car racing driver
 * Josh Rutledge, former MLB player
 * Shallow Side, rock music band formed in 2011
 * Grant Sikes, internet personality
 * Frank Stitt, chef
 * Channing Tatum, actor/model
 * Keegan Thompson, MLB pitcher
 * Wayne Trimble, American football player
 * Zac Tubbs, American football player
 * Holly Williams, country music singer
 * Larry Willingham, NFL player

title: Cullman, Alabama


text:
Dodge City, Alabama

Dodge City is a town in Cullman County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 548. It was incorporated in 1993.

Geography
Dodge City is located south of the center of Cullman County at 34.05222°N, -86.88278°W (34.052144, -86.882790).

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 8.9 km2, of which 0.03 sqkm, or 0.30%, is water.

The elevation is 628 ft above sea level.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 548 people, 251 households, and 174 families residing in the town.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 612 people, 231 households, and 184 families residing in the town. The population density was 194.7 PD/sqmi. There were 253 housing units at an average density of 80.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 99.51% White, and 0.49% from two or more races. 0.33% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 231 households, out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 70.1% were married couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.3% were non-families. 17.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.65 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.7% under the age of 18, 8.0% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 25.7% from 45 to 64, and 11.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.3 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $30,417, and the median income for a family was $33,393. Males had a median income of $29,028 versus $18,214 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,111. About 6.9% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.8% of those under age 18 and 21.4% of those age 65 or over.

title: Dodge City, Alabama


text:
Fairview, Alabama

Fairview is a town in Cullman County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 446, down from 522 in 2000. It incorporated in 1968.

History
Settled in the 1840s, what is now Fairview was originally known as "Lawrence Chapel." The town began using its current name, after a local Methodist church, in the 1890s. By the early 1900s, the town was home to several mills and a popular resort hotel. The first high school was completed in 1923.

Geography
Fairview is located in northeastern Cullman County at 34.24861°N, -86.68778°W (34.248717, -86.687761). It lies along State Route 69 between Cullman to the west and Arab to the east.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 7.1 km2, of which 0.04 km2, or 0.57%, is water.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 522 people, 188 households, and 144 families residing in the town. The population density was 212.1 PD/sqmi. There were 198 housing units at an average density of 80.4 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 86.59% White, 0.77% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 7.28% from other races, and 5.17% from two or more races. 16.28% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 188 households, out of which 36.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.4% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.4% were non-families. 20.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.78 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 23.4% under the age of 18, 13.8% from 18 to 24, 30.5% from 25 to 44, 17.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 125.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 126.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $31,875, and the median income for a family was $37,500. Males had a median income of $21,944 versus $21,042 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,817. About 13.0% of families and 14.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.0% of those under age 18 and 11.6% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 543 people, 213 households, and 168 families residing in the city.

Education

 * Fairview Elementary School (K-5)
 * Fairview Middle School (6-8)
 * Fairview High School (9-12)

All three schools are members of the Cullman County Board of Education.

In popular culture
In 2004, the dramatic film Lightning Bug was shot on location in Fairview.

title: Fairview, Alabama


text:
Good Hope, Alabama

Good Hope is a city in Cullman County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population of the city was 2,264. It incorporated in April 1962.

Geography
Good Hope is located near the center of Cullman County at 34°6'32" North, 86°52'2" West (34.108777, -86.867164). It is bordered by Cullman, the county seat, to the northeast. Interstate 65 passes through the city, with access from Exit 304. I-65 leads south 45 mi to Birmingham and north 57 mi (via Interstate 565) to Huntsville.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Good Hope has a total area of 20.7 km2, of which 20.6 km2 is land and 0.1 sqkm, or 0.59%, is water.

2000 census
At the 2000 census there were 1,966 people, 764 households, and 583 families living in the city. The population density was 265.0 PD/sqmi. There were 864 housing units at an average density of 116.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 98.83% White, 0.10% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.15% Asian, 0.31% from other races, and 0.41% from two or more races. 1.12% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 764 households 35.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.2% were married couples living together, 11.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.6% were non-families. 20.8% of households were one person and 6.3% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 2.98.

The age distribution was 25.6% under the age of 18, 9.7% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 11.3% 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.7 males.

The median household income was $33,274 and the median family income was $39,063. Males had a median income of $25,809 versus $20,762 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,602. 7.0% of the population and 5.1% of families were below the poverty line. 5.7% of those under the age of 18 and 13.9% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

2010 census
At the 2010 census there were 2,264 people, 847 households, and 631 families living in the town. The population density was 285 PD/sqmi. There were 932 housing units at an average density of 116.5 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 92.7% White, 0.3% Black or African American, 0.4% Native American, 0.5% Asian, 5.2% from other races, and 1.1% from two or more races. 7.7% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 847 households 34.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.3% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.5% were non-families. 22.2% of households were one person and 8.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.12.

The age distribution was 26.9% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 24.6% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% 65 or older. The median age was 36.5 years. For every 100 females, there were 101.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.0 males.

The median household income was $45,784 and the median family income was $48,080. Males had a median income of $50,750 versus $27,865 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,771. 19.3% of the population and 13.7% of families were below the poverty line. 29.7% of those under the age of 18 and 21.4% of those 65 and older were living below the poverty line.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,483 people, 845 households, and 604 families residing in the city.

Education

 * Good Hope Primary School- Grades PK-2.
 * Good Hope Elementary School- Grades 3–5.
 * Good Hope Middle School- Grades 6–8.
 * Good Hope High School- serves 395 students in grades 9-12. Its mascot is the Raiders, and its school colors are red and white. Its sports teams are part of the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 4A.

All four schools are members of the Cullman County Board of Education.

title: Good Hope, Alabama


text:
Hanceville, Alabama

Hanceville is a city in Cullman County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 3,217.

History
Founded in Blount County, Hanceville was established in 1832 and incorporated in May 1879. At the time of Cullman County's creation in 1877, half of Hanceville resided in each county. In 1885, county boundaries were redrawn and all of Hanceville was placed within Blount County. In 1901, county boundaries were redrawn again and this time all of the town was placed within Cullman County, in which it has remained.

Geography
Hanceville is located in southeastern Cullman County at 34.06333°N, -86.76083°W (34.063463, -86.760908). U.S. Route 31 passes through the city, leading north 9 mi to Cullman, the county seat, and south 14 mi to Smoke Rise.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 10.9 km2, of which 0.04 sqkm, or 0.34%, is water.

Demographics
At the 2000 census there were 2,951 people, 1,167 households, and 710 families living in the city. The population density was 718.6 PD/sqmi. There were 1,323 housing units at an average density of 322.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 93.09% White, 4.61% Black or African American, 0.61% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.75% from other races, and 0.85% from two or more races. 2.30% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 1,167 households 24.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 32.6% of households were one person and 12.1% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.84.

The age distribution was 17.8% under the age of 18, 17.7% from 18 to 24, 22.0% from 25 to 44, 21.2% from 45 to 64, and 21.3% 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 80.8 males.

The median household income was $26,351 and the median family income was $35,370. Males had a median income of $31,439 versus $18,112 for females. The per capita income for the city was $13,371. About 12.5% of families and 21.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.9% of those under age 18 and 13.5% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census
At the 2010 census there were 2,982 people, 1,233 households, and 691 families living in the city. The population density was 733 PD/sqmi. There were 1,439 housing units at an average density of 340.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 92.4% White, 3.6% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 1.4% from other races, and 1.6% from two or more races. 2.4% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 1,233 households 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.0% were non-families. 37.1% of households were one person and 17.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.98.

The age distribution was 21.6% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 22.5% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 22.8% 65 or older. The median age was 40.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.

The median household income was $30,903 and the median family income was $45,560. Males had a median income of $34,338 versus $35,417 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,078. About 14.5% of families and 24.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 28.1% of those under age 18 and 9.8% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 3,217 people, 1,263 households, and 730 families residing in the city. The population density was 789 PD/sqmi. Of the 1,233 households 23.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.1% were married couples living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 44.0% were non-families. 37.1% of households were one person and 17.0% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.98.

The age distribution was 21.6% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 22.5% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 22.8% 65 or older. The median age was 47.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.2 males.

The average household income in Hanceville is $49,660 with a poverty rate of 19.00%. The median rental costs in recent years comes to $668 per month, and the median house value is $99,900. The median age in Hanceville is 47.7 years, 41.8 years for males, and 49.9 years for females.

Attractions
Hanceville is home to Our Lady of the Angels Monastery. The construction began in 1996 and was completed in 1999, under the direction of Mother Angelica of the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN).

Hanceville is also home to Alabama's oldest paintball and airsoft field, Mount Doom Paintball Field. It has been in operation since the 1980s.

Education
Hanceville High School serves 342 students in grades 9–12. The school colors are purple and gold, and its mascot are the Bulldogs. It is a member of the Cullman County Board of Education. In 2001 the Lady Bulldogs basketball team won the Alabama High School Athletic Association Class 3A State Championship.

Colleges and universities
Wallace State Community College is the only college in the city. It opened in 1966 and has approximately 6,000 students.

Laws
Hanceville, Alabama gained some media coverage when it passed a law to prevent transgender people from using the restroom of their gender.

Notable people

 * Mother Angelica, founder of the Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN), formerly cloistered in the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament
 * Allen Green, former NFL player
 * Craig Kimbrel, closer for the Boston Red Sox went to community college in Hanceville at Wallace State Community College.
 * Country music artist Kip Moore attended Wallace State Community College in Hanceville.
 * Candi Staton, soul and gospel singer
 * Bill Steltemeier, founding president of EWTN

title: Hanceville, Alabama


text:
Holly Pond, Alabama

Holly Pond is a town in Cullman County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census the town's population was 798. The town was incorporated in 1906.

History
Holly Pond was first settled in the 1840s, and gets its name from two natural ponds that were surrounded by holly trees. The community expanded in the 1850s in anticipation of railroad construction, and by 1888 a post office had been established.

Geography
Holly Pond is located in eastern Cullman County at 34.17472°N, -86.61694°W (34.174657, -86.617004). The town is concentrated around the intersection of U.S. Route 278 and State Route 91. The elevation at the center of town is approximately 870 ft above sea level.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 11.5 km2, of which 0.05 sqkm, or 0.45%, is water.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 851 people, 368 households, and 258 families residing in the town.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 645 people, 250 households, and 182 families residing in the town. The population density was 187.3 PD/sqmi. There were 280 housing units at an average density of 81.3 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 97.67% White, 0.47% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 1.40% from other races, and 0.31% from two or more races. 3.41% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 250 households, out of which 36.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.8% were non-families. 22.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 27.0% under the age of 18, 11.5% from 18 to 24, 31.5% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 9.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 104.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 102.1 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $28,182, and the median income for a family was $31,875. Males had a median income of $27,708 versus $19,432 for females. The per capita income for the town was $13,466. About 12.2% of families and 19.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 26.9% of those under age 18 and 29.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Holly Pond High School is the town's main high school for grades 9-12. As of 2022, enrollment is 338 students and the principal is Janet Turner. Holly Pond competes in AHSAA Class 2A athletics. The school's mascot is a Bronco.

Holly Pond Middle School is the town's middle school for grades 6-8. It was established in 2008 by the Cullman County Board of Education. The current principal is Cynthia Roden.

Holly Pond Elementary School is the town's elementary school for grades K-5. The current principal is Karen Sparks.

All schools are part of the Cullman County Board of Education and have a common campus in central Holly Pond.

Notable person

 * Guy Hunt, former Governor of Alabama and Primitive Baptist pastor, was born and lived in Holly Pond.
 * Former ABC 33-40 and WHNT Channel 19 meteorologist Jason Simpson grew up in Holly Pond.

title: Holly Pond, Alabama


text:
South Vinemont, Alabama

South Vinemont is a town in Cullman County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 749, up from 425 in 2000.

Initially incorporated as the town of Vinemont in 1961, state officials informed them the name was already taken and so was later changed to South Vinemont. However, the U.S. Census still referred to the town as Vinemont in 1970 and was not acknowledged as South Vinemont until 1980.

Geography
South Vinemont is located in northern Cullman County at 34.23361°N, -86.86278°W (34.233641, -86.862916). It is 4 mi north of Cullman, the county seat.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, South Vinemont has a total area of 2.3 sqkm, of which 0.02 sqkm, or 1.05%, is water.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 558 people, 264 households, and 141 families residing in the town.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 425 people, 180 households, and 115 families residing in the town. The population density was 651.6 PD/sqmi. There were 203 housing units at an average density of 311.2 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 94.59% White, 0.47% Black or African American, 1.41% Native American, 0.24% from other races, and 3.29% from two or more races. 4.00% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 180 households, out of which 25.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.2% were married couples living together, 6.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.1% were non-families. 31.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family size was 2.93.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 22.1% under the age of 18, 10.4% from 18 to 24, 27.5% from 25 to 44, 25.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $26,806, and the median income for a family was $35,000. Males had a median income of $30,250 versus $16,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,141. About 11.1% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.1% of those under age 18 and 18.2% of those age 65 or over.

Education
Vinemont High School serves 323 students in grades 9-12. Its mascot is an eagle, and the school colors are red, white and blue. Its athletics compete in the State 3A division. It is a part of the Cullman County Board of Education.

Notable person

 * Charles "Rusty" Goodman, Southern Gospel singer

title: South Vinemont, Alabama


text:
West Point, Alabama

West Point is a town in Cullman County, Alabama, United States. The population was 584 at the 2020 census. West Point was incorporated on October 15, 1977.

Geography
West Point is located in northwest Cullman County at 34.23861°N, -86.95917°W (34.2387103, -86.9591727).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.875 sqmi, of which 3.848 sqmi is land and 0.027 sqmi, is water.

2020 census
As of the 2020 census, there were 584 people, 240 households, and 186 families residing in the town. There were 247 housing units.

2000 census
As of the 2000 census, there were 295 people, 114 households, and 89 families residing in the town. The population density was 254.8 PD/sqmi. There were 140 housing units at an average density of 120.9 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 100.00% White. 0.68% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 114 households, out of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.0% were married couples living together, 7.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.9% were non-families. 21.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.8% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 27.1% from 25 to 44, 27.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 105.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $28,295, and the median income for a family was $36,875. Males had a median income of $24,821 versus $19,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $14,963. About 11.0% of families and 12.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.3% of those under the age of eighteen and 8.8% of those 65 or over.

Education

 * West Point Elementary School (K-3)
 * West Point Intermediate School (4-5)
 * West Point Middle School (6-8)
 * West Point High School (9-12)

All four schools are members of the Cullman County Board of Education.

title: West Point, Alabama


text:
Ariton, Alabama

Ariton is a town in Dale County, Alabama, United States. At the 2020 census, the population was 662. It was incorporated in April 1906. The name is a blend of its two predecessor town names: Ariosto and Charlton.

Ariton is part of the Ozark Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography
Ariton is located in northwestern Dale County at 31.59833°N, -85.71889°W (31.598204, -85.718761). Alabama State Routes 51 and 123 pass through the center of town as Main Street. AL 51 leads northeast 11 mi to Clio and southwest 3.5 mi to U.S. Route 231, while AL 123 leads west 3.5 mi to US 231 and southeast 12 mi to Ozark, the Dale County seat.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 13.2 km2, all land.

Town of Ariton
Ariton first appeared on the 1910 U.S. Census as an incorporated town.

2000 Census data
At the 2000 census there were 772 people, 306 households, and 220 families in the town. The population density was 152.3 PD/sqmi. There were 335 housing units at an average density of 66.1 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 69.30% White, 29.27% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, and 1.30% from two or more races. 0.78%. were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 306 households 39.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.1% were married couples living together, 20.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.8% were non-families. 26.5% of households were one person and 15.7% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.02.

The age distribution was 28.5% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 27.7% from 25 to 44, 18.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.0% 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 84.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.0 males.

The median household income was $21,083 and the median family income was $25,781. Males had a median income of $27,250 versus $17,639 for females. The per capita income for the town was $11,502. About 25.1% of families and 25.9% 55 of the population were below the poverty line, including 34.5% of those under age 18 and 22.2% of those age 65 or over.

2020 Census data
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 662 people, 272 households, and 182 families residing in the town.

Ariton Census Division (1960-70)
Ariton Census Division was created in 1960 after the merger/reorganization of county precincts into census divisions. In 1980, it was consolidated into the Ozark Census Division.

Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Ariton has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Notable people

 * Eunice Hutto Morelock, pioneer faculty member at Bob Jones College and possibly the first female chief academic officer of a coeducational college in the United States
 * Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter

title: Ariton, Alabama


text:
Clayhatchee, Alabama

Clayhatchee is a town in Dale County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 589, up from 501 in 2000. It was incorporated in April 1967. It is part of the Ozark Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography
Clayhatchee is located in southwestern Dale County at 31.23778°N, -85.71278°W (31.237743, -85.712679), between Claybank Creek to the west and the Choctawhatchee River to the east. Alabama State Route 92 passes through the center of town, leading east 20 mi to Dothan (via U.S. Route 84) and northwest 10 mi to Enterprise (via AL 167). Alabama State Route 85 leads north from Clayhatchee 5 mi to Daleville and southwest 17 mi to Geneva.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Clayhatchee has a total area of 7.04 km2, all land.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 501 people, 222 households, and 152 families residing in the town. The population density was 183.9 PD/sqmi. There were 267 housing units at an average density of 98.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the town was 92.42% white, 4.19% black or African American, 0.60% Native American, 0.80% Asian, 0.20% from other races, and 1.80% from two or more races. 1.80% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 222 households, out of which 23.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.4% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 29.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.75.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 21.0% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 29.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $30,156, and the median income for a family was $34,821. Males had a median income of $26,354 versus $21,250 for females. The per capita income for the town was $17,959. About 15.6% of families and 20.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 31.2% of those under age 18 and 10.9% of those age 65 or over.

Climate
The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Clayhatchee has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

title: Clayhatchee, Alabama


text:
Daleville, Alabama

Daleville is a city in Dale County, Alabama, United States. At the 2010 census the population was 5,295, up from 4,653 in 2000. It is part of the Ozark Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city's nickname is "Gateway to Fort Rucker", as this U.S. Army post is located just north of town. Cairns Army Airfield is located to the south of Daleville on the road to nearby Clayhatchee.

History
Daleville, originally known as "Dale's Court House", was founded in 1827 by veterans of the Creek Indian War who had settled in Dale County following that conflict. It was established as the original county seat of Dale County in 1827 but lost that honor when Coffee County split from Dale in 1841, at which time the seat was moved first to Newton, and then later to Ozark in 1870, where it remains today.

The name of Daleville was adopted in 1848. Daleville voted to incorporate in 1912, but rescinded it in 1916. It later voted for incorporation in 1958.

Residents of the town formed portions of two regiments of the Confederate States Army during the U.S. Civil War: the 15th Alabama Infantry, famed for charging the 20th Maine on Little Round Top during the Battle of Gettysburg, and the 33rd Alabama Infantry. In the latter regiment, Company "G", called the "Daleville Blues", was recruited entirely from Daleville. Several men from this company were killed in a freak train derailment on November 4, 1862, near Cleveland, Tennessee; the remainder would fight with the rest of the 33rd in the Confederate Army of Tennessee until the final surrender in 1865.

Long a tiny farming community, Daleville saw significant expansion during the mid-to-late twentieth century with the establishment and enlargement of Fort Novosel, the U.S. Army's primary aviation training post. Douglas Brown, a former mayor of Ozark, teamed up with two Georgia businessmen, L.C. Hall and Bob Culpepper, to develop the city. Securing a 1.5 million dollar loan, the trio purchased 400 acre of land in Daleville, constructed a lagoon sewer system and began to build the town house by house, shopping center by shopping center. Numerous military personnel then made their homes in the community, and many elected to stay after their retirement or otherwise completing their service obligation. This large military presence gives the town a more cosmopolitan populace than other area towns farther away from the base.

Daleville was the victim of an F1 tornado on November 24, 2001, part of the Arkansas-Mississippi-Alabama tornado outbreak that occurred on November 23 and 24 of that year. Two restaurants and two industrial buildings were destroyed; a local lounge suffered severe damage as well. Also damaged were maintenance buildings, one aircraft, 25 businesses, a church, gas station, two supermarkets, a bank and several homes. 25 people inside the lounge were injured, but no fatalities were reported.

Geography
Daleville is located in southwestern Dale County at 31.3025°N, -85.71111°W (31.302496, -85.711083). U.S. Highway 84 passes through the southern part of the city, leading east 21 mi to Dothan and west 10 mi to Enterprise. Daleville is the northern terminus of Alabama State Route 85, which runs south from the city 23 mi to Geneva. This route intersects with US 84 on the south side of town. Alabama State Route 134 runs east from Daleville 7 mi toward Newton; westbound 134 joins U.S. 84 to continue on to Enterprise.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Daleville has a total area of 36.5 km2, all land. The Choctawhatchee River flows a few miles east of the city.

2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 4,653 people, 1,980 households, and 1,245 families residing in the city. The population density was 344.5 PD/sqmi. There were 2,541 housing units at an average density of 188.1 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 64.20% White, 25.36% Black or African American, 0.75% Native American, 3.65% Asian, 0.21% Pacific Islander, 2.19% from other races, and 3.63% from two or more races. 3.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 1,980 households, out of which 31.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.2% were married couples living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.1% were non-families. 31.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.96.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.3% under the age of 18, 10.3% from 18 to 24, 30.2% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 9.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.9 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 94.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,473, and the median income for a family was $40,994. Males had a median income of $30,997 versus $21,162 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,761. About 11.5% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.6% of those under age 18 and 14.3% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census
As of the census of 2010, there were 5,295 people, 2,384 households, and 1,353 families residing in the city. The population density was 344.7 PD/sqmi. There were 2,795 housing units at an average density of 207.0 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the city was 66.2% White, 22.6% Black or African American, 1.1% Native American, 2.7% Asian, 0.2% Pacific Islander, 2.9% from other races, and 4.3% from two or more races. 10.1% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,384 households, out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 36.0% were married couples living together, 15.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.2% were non-families. 37.2% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.22 and the average family size was 2.92.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.9% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 26.5% from 45 to 64, and 11.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35.0 years. For every 100 females, there were 103.3 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 110.4 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $47,536, and the median income for a family was $48,824. Males had a median income of $47,588 versus $30,167 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,663. About 11.1% of families and 13.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.7% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,866 people, 1,965 households, and 1,203 families residing in the city.

Government
Daleville is governed by a mayor and a city council of five members. The mayor in 2020 is Jayme Stayton, serving his second term. The city council in 2020 is Kevin Turley, Jo Reese, Katheryne Horace, Jimmy Monk, Sr, and Alan Souders. The city is located in Alabama's Second Congressional District; its current representative (as of 2021) is Barry Moore (R). The city is split between two state senate districts (29 and 31) and three state house districts (87, 91 and 93).

Utilities are provided through Alabama Power and the Pea River Co-op (Electricity), the city water department (water), Southeast Alabama Gas District (natural gas), CenturyLink (telephone/internet/video), Time Warner Cable (telephone/internet/video) and Troy Cable (telephone/internet/video).

Daleville is protected by a full-time police department with seventeen officers, a volunteer fire department, and an advanced life support ambulance service/rescue squad. All three are provided by the Daleville Department of Public Safety led by Director John Crawford. The city also offers a community center, senior center, public library and convention center.

Schools
Daleville is served by one elementary and one high school, which together make up the self-contained Daleville School District. Windham Elementary School serves grades K-6, while Daleville High School  serves grades 7–12. The high school's JROTC program has held the rating of "Honor Unit With Distinction", the highest possible unit ranking within the JROTC program, for the past 33 consecutive years (as of 2007). Its rifle team has won seventeen state championships and numerous local competitions. The high school football team was the winner of the 1992 4A football championship, and was runner-up in 1993. In 1997, the high school basketball team reached the state's final four tournament.

Notable people

 * Mickey Andrews, college football coach
 * Ethel Cain, singer-songwriter
 * Jonas Randolph, American football player
 * Tony Richardson, NFL player
 * Robert W. Smith, composer
 * Shawn Stuckey, NFL player and attorney
 * Margaret Peterlin, Chief of Staff to the United States Secretary of State, February 2017–March 2018

title: Daleville, Alabama


text:
Dothan, Alabama

Dothan is a city in and the county seat of Houston County in the U.S. state of Alabama. A slight portion of the city extends into Dale and Henry 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 20 mi west of Georgia and 16 mi north of Florida. It is named after the biblical city where Joseph's brothers threw him into a cistern and sold him into slavery in Egypt.

Dothan is the principal city of the Dothan, Alabama metropolitan area, which encompasses all of Geneva, 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. 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. Since approximately one-fourth of the U.S. peanut 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.

Earliest years
Between 1763 and 1783, the region that is now Dothan was part of the colony of British West Florida. 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 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 in Alabama and Indian Removal in the 1830s, when most members of the Five Civilized Tribes were forcibly taken to Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. 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. 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.

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 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. Today, one-quarter of the U.S. peanut crop is harvested within 75 mi 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, 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 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. 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.

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 city has an area of 232.4 km2, of which 231.5 km2 is land and 0.8 km2, or 0.36%, is water.

It is located in the Wiregrass region 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 to the east and the gulf coastal plain to the south.

Climate
Dothan has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa). This produces hot, humid summers and generally mild winters, with daily average temperatures ranging from 83.0 °F in the summer to 50.8 °F during winter. Precipitation is plentiful throughout the year, ranging from 6.17 in in August, the wettest month, to 2.70 in 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 0.2 in; the last major snow event occurred on February 12, 2010. Other significant snow events in the city's history occurred in 1973, 1977, 1989, and 1993. Tornadoes 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 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 (called the "board of commissioners"), with a city manager employed to manage city affairs. The city is divided into six council districts, with one commissioner elected from each single-member district 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 2017, the mayor was Mark Saliba and the city manager was Mike West. Larry H. Williams served as city fire chief and Steve Parrish 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. 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, Bethany Divinity College & Seminary, and the Alabama College of Osteopathic Medicine.

Airport
Dothan Regional Airport is served by Delta Air Lines and Aero-One Aviation as of September 2017. The airport was established at the former Army airbase at Napier Field 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 55 mi to Bainbridge, Georgia and west 30 mi to Enterprise. U.S. 231 runs along the western part of the bypass from south to north, leading northwest 56 mi to Troy and south 83 mi to Panama City, Florida. 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 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 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 service through its nonprofit Wiregrass Transit Authority.

Religion
The largest Christian denomination in Dothan is the Southern Baptist church. There are also Anglican, Churches of Christ, Methodist, Presbyterian, Lutheran, AME, Freewill Baptist, Episcopal, United Pentecostal, Assemblies of God, Seventh-day Adventist and various Evangelical churches serving Dothan's Protestant 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. Dothan hosts a Reform Judaism 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 mosques, two Wards of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, a Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses.

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), WDFX 34 (FOX), WDHN 18 (ABC) and the oldest television station in southeastern Alabama, WTVY 4 (CBS/MyNetworkTV/CW). WOW!, Comcast and Spectrum (formerly Time Warner Cable) provide cable television service. DirecTV and Dish Network provide direct broadcast satellite 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 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 and the Philadelphia Phillies. 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 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 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 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.

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 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, at nearby Fort Novosel, 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, 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 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 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 5 ft 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)(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 (born 1968), actress and model
 * Dancin' Dave (1927–2015), local street performer.
 * Matt Cain (born 1984), MLB pitcher
 * Trent Forrest (born 1998), NBA player
 * Bobby Goldsboro (born 1941), singer and songwriter
 * Clay Holmes (born 1993), MLB pitcher
 * Jamie Thomas (born 1974), professional skateboarder
 * Haywood Sullivan (1930–2003), major league baseball catcher and owner

title: Dothan, Alabama