Dothan Landmarks Foundation Board
Jon Lee, President
Glenn Spivey, Vice President
Suzanne Davis, Treasurer
Ron Thomas, Secretary
Meredith N. Agan,Stanley Aman, Barry DeVane, Brooks DeVane, Karen Jackson, Corey Long, Shannon McRae, Debbie Moore, Kay Nailen, Marty Olliff, Katie Pilcher, Steve Stokes, Valerie Thompson, Chris Welsh, Jamie Woodham
HISTORY OF LANDMARK PARK
| Nov. 1976: | meeting of a small group of people interested in forming a historical society for the preservation of historic sites in and around Dothan. |
| Dec. 1976: | Dothan Landmarks Foundation formed as a nonprofit corporation. Carole Lee was first president. |
| Jan. 1977: | Planning committee has meeting and explore concept of developing a children's museum. |
| Feb. 1978: | Fifty acres of land off Hwy 431 N is donated by the McFatter family for the creation of the Landmarks Center for Natural Science and History. Three additional acres are donated by Dr. and Mrs. Sam West Jr. and Lewe West. |
| March 1978: | Robert O. Joslin hired as Foundation's first executive director |
| Dec. 1978: | Waddell House is donated by Earl Waddell and Iona W. Wells and is moved to property |
| March 1979: | First official school field trip. The school was Houston Academy. |
| Dec. 1979: | Waddell Hose opens to the public |
| 1981: | Sam W. Kates hired as Foundation's second executive director |
| 1981: | Local architectural firm Dunseth & Lee donates development of master plan to the foundation |
| 1981: | Name of property changed to "Landmark Park." |
| Jan. 1982: | 600 sq. ft. Victorian style Gazebo donated by Newton family to serve as centerpiece of "Square for the Arts" |
| April 1982: | Corn Crib moved to park from Gordo, AL. |
| May 1982: | 1,000 sq. foot picnic pavilion erected. Smokehouse moved to park from Geneva County |
| June 1982: | Construction beings on 1800 ft. elevated boardwalk |
| Nov. 1982: | Windmill erected at park |
| Dec. 1982: | Construction begins on Wiregrass Farmstead's animal barn. New entrance to park constructed by Houston County and state Hwy Dept., providing access from Hwy. 431. |
| May 1983: | 1908 Headland Presbyterian Church moved from Headland, AL to property. |
| June 1983: | Construction begins on Cotton Shed. |
| Oct. 1983: | Wetland Wildlife Exhibit opens on boardwalk |
| Dec. 1983: | Woodland Wildlife exhibit opens on boardwalk |
| March 1984: | Native Plant garden established |
| May 1984: | Syrup Shed constructed on the Wiregrass Farmstead |
| Aug. 1984: | Reptile Exhibit opens on boardwalk |
| Sept. 1984: | Groundbreaking for Interpretive Center |
| Oct. 1984: | Native Bird exhibit opens on boardwalk |
| Dec. 1984: | Blacksmith shop constructed on Wiregrass Farmstead |
| Oct. 1985: | Thrower Log Cabin moved to park to serve as security residence |
| Sept. 1986: | New entrance to the park landscaped |
| Feb. 1987: | Watson Log Cabin moved from Skipperville Alabama |
| April 1987: | Observation platform overlooking the beaver pond on the boardwalk opens |
| May 1988: | William Holman appointed as third Executive Director of the Foundation |
| June 1988: | Landmark Park designated a "treasure forest" by the Alabama Forestry Commission |
| Oct. 1988: | "Pioneer Peanut Days" selected as one of the "top Twenty Events in the Southeast" for the month of October by the Southeast Tourism Society |
| April 1990: | Landmark Park receives "Ed Griffith Collection of Johnny Mack Brown Memorabilia," one of the largest collections in the U. S. |
| Sept. 1991: | The Brown's Crossroads School, a one-room schoolhouse from Dale County, is relocated to the park |
| Nov. 1991: | 2,000 sq. foot classroom added to Interpretive Center |
| April 1992: | Joint resolution passes both houses of the Alabama legislature, designating Landmark Park as "Alabama's Official Museum of Agriculture" |
| Feb. 1993: | 950 year old redwood tree exhibit installed at the park |
| April 1993: | Additional 45 acres purchased, bringing total park acreage up to 105. |
| July 1993: | Landmark Park receives "Friend of Education Award" from the Dothan Education Association |
| Oct. 1994: | Shelley General Store moved from Tumbleton. Legislation creating the Alabama Agricultural Museum board passes both houses of the legislature and is signed into law by Gov. Folsom. |
| June 1995: | Park hosts first annual "Music by Moonlight" with MusicSouth |
| Dec. 1995: | Shelley General Store opens |
| June 1997: | Park acquires historic Martin Drugstore in Enterprise, AL |
| Sept. 1998: | Park receives Achievement Award from the Historic Chattahooche Commission for promotion of tourism and historic preservation in Chattahoochee Trace region of AL and GA |
| Oct. 1998: | Ground broken for Phase 1 of Ala. Agricultural Museum on Park grounds |
| Oct. 1999: | Ribbon Cutting held for phase 1 of Alabama Agricultural Museum |
| 2000: | Master plan revised and updated |
| Sept. 2002: | Park is selected to host the arrival of Chattanooga Star for riverboat rides on the Chattahoochee River |
| Sept. 2003: | Installs demonstration beehives |
| Nov. 2003: | publishes "Houston County: The First 100 Years: |
| March 2004: | Ribbon cutting for Martin Drugstore |
| Nov. 2004: | Publishes "Railroading Around Dothan and the Wiregrass Region" |
| Sept. 2005: | Hosts first Johnny Mack Brown Film Festival in downtown Dothan |
| April 2005: | Opens "The Barnyard" playground. |
| July 2006: | Breaks ground on the construction of the "Angelia and Steven H. Stokes Activity Barn" |
| July 2006: | Crowley Field, named in honor of Vernell Crowley and in memory of her husband, Barnett Crowley, thanks to a $25,000 donation by their son, Gerald Crowley, opens. |
| 2007: | Grand opening of 8,000 square foot Stokes Activity Barn |
| 2008: | Acquired The Hodges Property, 32 additional acres. |
| May 2008: | The Yellawood® Johnny Mack Brown Western Festival moves from downtown Dothan to Landmark Park. |
| June 2008: | Thanks to a $75,000 federal recreational trails grant and the support of Great Southern Wood Preserving in Abbeville, the boardwalk receives a major renovation. |
| October 2008: | The Eufaula High School FFA Chapter restores one of the park’s antique tractors, winning first place in the nation in the Chevron Delco Tractor Restoration Competition. The 1946 Case DC tractor was donated to the park in 1997 |
| February 2009: | Organized and presented “Houston County’s Past: The Photographs of Douglass Snellgrove,” A semi-permanent exhibit on display in the Houston County Courthouse Jury Assembly Room. |
| August 2009: | The Foundation purchases a 32 acre parcel of land, adjacent to the park, formerly known as Grey Hodges Park. |
| March 2010: | Membership in the foundation reached an all-time high of 2,000 members |
| June 2010: | Thanks to a $30,000 grant from the Wiregrass Resource Conservation and Development Council, renovated the planetarium and installed a new state-of-the-art digital projection system. family in Headland. |
| June 2010: | Renovated the front gate |
| June 2010: | A fire burns down the maintenance area |
| 2011: | Rebuilt shop buildings after a fire in 2010 |
| May 2011: | Completed installation of Air Conditioning in the Stokes Activity Barn |
| October 2011: | Loss of 100 percent of state funding |
| November 2011: | Release of “Dothan and Houston County, Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow” |
TODAY, Dothan Landmarks Foundation represents the largest nonprofit community organization in Southeast Alabama, Northwest Florida dn Southwest Georgia. Currently, over 1600 families are members. 50,000 visit annual and over 14,000 school children come for field trips annually.
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