Dothan, Ala. (WDNews) – The Dothan City Commission has approved a $301,775 contract with APAC Alabama Inc. to demolish the former Dothan Eagle printing building downtown.
The building is located on the corner of North Oak and Troy Street. City officials said the demolition clears the way for new development of the city hall annex.
Public safety lane closures are expected during an estimated 21 to 30-day demolition. A date to start the demolition has yet to be determined.
Some historical elements, like signage, may be preserved. The newspaper has a rich history, being over a century old.
According to Hub of the Wiregrass by Fred S. Watson, It was not originally called the Dothan Eagle. In 1902, Simeon Blue, a Dothan newcomer at the time, started putting out a paper called the Houston Eagle.
The name was changed to the one we know today in 1905 when a city clerk, W.T Hall, bought the paper. Despite the history book saying it was established in 1905, the earliest issues of the Dothan Eagle achieved are from 1908.
While the Dothan Eagle still prints some issues of their papers today, the slow shift from print to digital has showed how news must evolve overtime to keep up with readers- or else, fade into obscurity.
The 1924 editor of the paper had this to say in regards to the everchanging news scene of Dothan: “The newspaper history of Dothan, like the newspaper history of most cities, is one complete with graveyard markers.”
The Dothan Commission has until the end of July to figure out a start date for the demolition. WDNews will be posting updates.
