November 4-13, 2022 is the date for peanuts in Dothan – home of the National Peanut Festival since 1938

[The location of the National Peanut Festival is at the fairgrounds on US Highway 231 South. 

According to the National Peanut festival website:

“The National Peanut Festival, the nation’s largest peanut festival, is held in Dothan, Alabama each fall to honor local peanut farmers and to celebrate the harvest season.” Located in the southeast corner of Alabama, Dothan is known as the “Peanut Capital of the World” and is a prime location for growing peanuts.

“With over 200 acres, 2 exhibit buildings, an amphitheater, an open-air arena, and an Ag complex, the fairgrounds host year-round events and further promoting agriculture in the Wiregrass area, in addition to hosting the yearly harvest celebration. The National Peanut Festival grew from a three-day event in 1938 to a ten-day event with attendance in excess of 150,000 fairgoers.”

The festival first started on a “near freezing Thursday, November 10, 1938. and lasted three days. It included a pageant, parade, play, and a grand ball. 

The guest speaker the first year was Dr. George Washington Carver. Dr. Carver introduced peanuts to the Wiregrass and they saved the area after boll weevils destroyed the cotton crops.

Dr. George Washington Carver

“Dr. Carver was a modest, unassuming man from the Tuskegee Institute who gained international fame with his development of over 300 products from the peanut.” 

Mural of George Washington Carver on the wall in Dothan

Heart of Peanut Country

Dothan is the heart of peanut country. The majority of all the peanuts grown in the United States are grown within a 100-mile radius of Dothan. 

The festival became an annual event until 1941 when it was postponed until the end of World War II. However, it was renewed in 1947. Parades were popular in Alabama after World War II and the National Peanut Festival of 1955 held in Dothan, Alabama was no exception. That year the very popular cowboy star, Tex Ritter attended.

The festival was held at various locations in Houston County until 1999 when the festival was settled on its current location in Dothan at the fairgrounds on US Highway 231 South. 

 Program from Boiled Peanut World page  Bret W. Moreland

In 1990, Garth Brooks performed to packed crowds in the Farm Center Arena, and traffic was backed up completely around Ross Clark Circle.

Gold Peanut in Dothan, Alabama

In 1996, on another freezing day, Dr. George Washington Carver’s statue was dedicated.

Great site to learn more about the Dothan Peanut Festival!