 On November 11, 1885, the citizens voted to incorporate, naming their new city "Dothan" on 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.On October 12, 1889, Dothan was the scene of a deadly altercation resulting from a dispute over a tax levied on all wagons operating within city limits.Local farmers opposed this levy and united in a body called the "Farmers Alliance".