Dothan’s old downtown commercial center developed between 1885 and 1930 as the city grew from a small rural town into the trade and transportation nucleus of the Wiregrass, the last area of Alabama to be settled and developed. The district has a high concentration of closely spaced commercial and warehouse buildings, including simple one-story brick buildings and larger ornate urban-type structures such as the five-story Young Building, with brick, stone, and concrete block structures reflecting downtown’s role as Dothan’s business center. This part of the city began losing its importance as a commercial hub in the late 1960s when retail businesses moved to outlying shopping centers and malls, leaving many buildings vacant, though preservation efforts continued, and the district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983 through the efforts of the Dothan Landmarks Foundation.