Now we know

Longtime residents of the Wiregrass will recall — not so fondly — the slaughterhouse that once operated at the confluence of Reeves Street, Oates Street and Montgomery Highway. There’s something slightly creepy about such an enterprise; although necessary, it’s a part of the food chain that most people would rather have out of sight, out of mind and, particularly, far downwind. Decades after the last pig met his fate on the killing floor, old-timers remember the odor as if it were yesterday.

An auto body shop now occupies part of the old slaughterhouse property; the rest has fallen into disrepair and stands as just another embarrassing blight on one of our city’s main thoroughfares.
That will soon change. Owner Joe Davis will keep his body shop at the north end of the sliver-shaped tract but will deed the rest of the property to the city of Dothan. There are plans to raze the buildings there and create a green space.

Some have grumbled about landowners unloading derelict property through civic donation. We can’t imagine anyone would think allowing the buildings to decay more, creating a greater eyesore, would be preferable.

We applaud Davis for the donation; the odd shape of the property, which is hemmed by highways and a railroad, seems suited for a slaughterhouse that needs access to the rails, but little else.
The city of Dothan has become more diligent in holding property owners accountable for neglected assets, and is more aggressive with its condemnation proceedings. Through its Downtown Dothan Redevelopment Authority, the city has purchased vacant properties downtown and knocked them down.

Ideally, many of these buildings would have been maintained, occupied and preserved. Instead, they’ve passed the point of salvation.

Looking at yellowed photographs of “old Dothan,” with its grand homes, tree-lined downtown streets and stately buildings, we’ve often wondered how those structures came to be lost.
Now we know.