Huntsville, Alabama

Huntsville, Alabama
City
From top, left to right: Downtown, Huntsville Museum of Art, United States Space and Rocket Center, EarlyWorks Children's Museum, Propst Arena, and the First National Bank
Nickname:  Rocket City[1]
Motto:  "Star of Alabama"[2]
Interactive map of Huntsville
Coordinates: 34°43′48″N 86°35′6″W / 34.73000°N 86.58500°W / 34.73000; -86.58500
Country	United States
State	Alabama
Counties	Madison, Limestone, Morgan[3]
Established (as Twickenham)	December 23, 1809; 215 years ago (1809-12-23)[4]
Incorporated (town)	December 9, 1811; 213 years ago (1811-12-09)[5][6]
Incorporated (city)	February 24, 1860; 164 years ago (1860-02-24)[7]
Founded by	LeRoy Pope
Named for	John Hunt
Government
• Type	Mayor–Council
• Mayor	Tommy Battle (R)
• Council	Huntsville City Council
Area [8]
• City	220.83 sq mi (571.95 km2)
• Land	219.34 sq mi (568.08 km2)
• Water	1.49 sq mi (3.87 km2)
Elevation [9]	581 ft (177 m)
Population  (2020)[10]
• City	215,006
• Estimate  (2023)[11]	230,463
• Rank	100th in the United States 1st in Alabama
• Density	980/sq mi (378.5/km2)
• Urban	329,066 (US: 122nd)
• Urban density	1,532.2/sq mi (591.6/km2)
• Metro [12]	491,723 (US: 108th)
Demonym	Huntsvillian
Time zone	UTC−6 (CST)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP codes	35649, 35749, 35748, 35754, 35756, 35757, 35671, 35741, 35762, 35763, 35773, 35801–35816, 35824, 35893-35899, 35810
Area codes	256, 938
FIPS code	01-37000
GNIS feature ID	2404746[9]
Interstates
U.S. Routes
Website	City of Huntsville

Huntsville is a city in the north of the U.S. state of Alabama. It is in Madison County. It extends west into Limestone county. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County.^[13] The 2020 census showed that Huntsville has a population of 215,006.^[10] The Huntsville metropolitan area's population was 491,723 in 2020.^[12]

Huntsville is both the largest city in Alabama by population, and the largest city in Alabama by area.

John Hunt first settled in Huntsville in 1805. The town was named Twickenham after Alexander Pope's home town at the request of Leroy Pope.^[14] However, the town was renamed to "Huntsville" on November 25, 1811. It has grown across nearby hills and along the Tennessee River. It has textile mills and also munitions factories. Also in this city are NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and the United States Army Aviation and Missile Command at the Redstone Arsenal. The National Trust for Historic Preservation named Huntsville to its "America's Dozen Distinctive Destinations for 2010" list.^[15]

1. ↑ "ROCKET CITY, U.S.A." Time. p. 1. Archived from the original on August 31, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
2. ↑ "Logo and Identity Standards". City of Huntsville. Retrieved December 23, 2022.
3. ↑ Jordan, Michelle (February 23, 2018). "City Limits: Explaining the annexation process". City of Huntsville. Retrieved December 24, 2022.
4. ↑ A Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama: Containing The Statutes and Resolutions in Force at the end of the General Assembly in January 1823. Published by Ginn & Curtis, J. & J. Harper, Printers, New-York, 1828. Title 14. Chapter I. Section 2. pp. 106–107. "An Act directing Courts to be held in the County of Madison, &c.—Passed December 23, 1809(...)Sec 2. And be it further enacted. That the town so laid out shall be known by the name Twickenham." (Google Books)
5. ↑ A Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama: Containing The Statutes and Resolutions in Force at the end of the General Assembly in January 1823. Published by Ginn & Curtis, J. & J. Harper, Printers, New-York, 1828. Title 62. Chapter V. pp. 774–775. "An Act to Incorporate the Town of Huntsville, Madison County —Passed December 9, 1811." (Google Books)
6. ↑ "62 – Chapter V.". A Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama: Containing The Statutes and Resolutions in Force at the end of the General Assembly in January, 1823. New-York: Ginn & Curtis, J. & J. Harper, Printers. 1828. pp. 774–775.
7. ↑ Acklen, William, ed. (1861). The Code of Ordnances of the City of Hunstville, With the Charter, Pursuant to an Order of the Mayor and Aldermen. Huntsville, Ala.: William B. Figures, Printer. Retrieved June 25, 2015.
8. ↑ "2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
9. ↑ ^{9.0 9.1} U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Huntsville, Alabama
10. ↑ ^{10.0 10.1} "QuickFacts: Huntsville city, Alabama". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved September 2, 2023.
11. ↑ "City and Town Population Totals: 2020-2021". United States Census Bureau. May 29, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
12. ↑ ^{12.0 12.1} "2020 Population and Housing State Data". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
13. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
14. ↑ "Notes on the History of Huntsville". Archived from the original on 2010-05-27. Retrieved 2010-08-03.
15. ↑ Storey, Deborah (February 3, 2010). "Huntsville on the list of 'Distinctive Destinations' for 2010". The Huntsville Times.