Dodola, Oromia: History
Arnold Weinholt Hodson passed through Dodola when he was the British resident in southern Ethiopia (1914-1923). The Italian Guida described Dodola in 1938 as a town with an important market in an area rich in resources of agriculture and forest, and having 150 inhabitants. The Guida further mentioned the village church of Kidane Mihret as a notable landmark.
The road to Dodola built by the Italian occupants had fallen into disrepair by the time of the Bale revolt. However, a telephone landline to the town was in operation by 1964.
The Ethiopian Ministry of Education gave permission on 21 March 1949 to a group of Danish missionaries to establish a station at Dodola, but due to funding issues the mission was not started until 1952. The mission included a school and a clinic. Over the following years the station had a constant problem with retaining staff, but by 1971 it had secured support from the Lutheran World Federation.