Reviewed by: Pat Byington
Celebrate National Peanut Lovers Day in the ‘Peanut Capital of the World’—Dothan
Reading time: 3 minutes
Fun fact of the day: Dothan is considered the ‘Peanut Capital of the World’ and today just so happens to be ‘National Peanut Lovers Day’—so to honor the occasion, let’s dive into how Dothan got this nickname + some more fun facts about peanuts in Alabama.
‘Peanut Capital of the World’
About half of all peanuts grown & produced in the U.S. are grown in & around Dothan. And it was in Dothan that George Washington Carver reinvented the agricultural game with his crop rotation strategy. You can find peanuts from Dothan at the Alabama Peanut Co. during late summer/early fall, when ‘green peanuts’ are in season.
You can find several monuments to peanuts around Dothan, including:
- Peanut statues all over town—in front of businesses, government offices + even on street corners
- George Washington Carver Museum
- Annual Little Miss and Miss National Peanut Festival pageant
- The National Peanut Festival
George Washington Carver’s legacy
George Washington Carver is widely regarded as the ‘Peanut Man’. After earning his Masters from Iowa State Agricultural College in the 1890s, he brought the idea of ‘crop rotating’ back to the South. By alternating cotton crops with others that help renourish the soil, like peanuts, farmers could yield more cotton later and have another cash crop to sell in the meantime.
This crop rotation method is credited with saving Southern agriculture in the early 1900s when boll weevils destroyed many cotton crops in agricultural communities like Dothan and Enterprise.
He also reportedly came up with a whopping 325 uses for peanuts, although he’s not credited with inventing peanut butter.
You can read more about George Washington Carter’s life & legacy HERE.
Ways to Celebrate
So you know the history of peanuts in Alabama – now how do you celebrate Peanut Lovers Day? We have a few options:
- Make the Alabama State Cookie, the Yellowhammer Cookie—which includes a peanut butter filling.
- Enjoy the Southern tradition of popping some peanuts in a bottle of Coke. For best results, get a glass bottle of Coke.
- Go down the rabbit hole of all 300+ peanut-related inventions by George Washington Carver. Highlights include peanut milk, laundry soap and metal polish.
- Enjoy the schoolyard classic of a peanut butter + jelly sandwich
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