Cullman

History

Before the arrival of American settlers, the area that today includes Cullman was originally in the territory of the Cherokee Nation. The region was traversed by a trail known as the Black Warrior's Path, which led from the Tennessee River near the present location of Florence, Alabama, to a point on the Black Warrior River south of Cullman. This trail figured significantly in Cherokee history, and it featured prominently in the American Indian Wars prior to the establishment of the state of Alabama and the relocation of several American Indian tribes, including the Creek people westward along the Trail of Tears. During the Creek War in 1813, General Andrew Jackson of the U.S. Army dispatched a contingent of troops down the trail, one of which included the frontiersman Davy Crockett. In the 1820s and the 1830s, two toll roads were built linking the Tennessee Valley to present-day Birmingham. In 1822, Abraham Stout was given a charter by the Alabama Legislature to open and turnpike a road beginning from Gandy's Cove in Morgan County to the ghost town of Baltimore on the Mulberry Fork near Colony. The road passed near present-day Vinemont through Cullman, Good Hope, and down the current Interstate 65 corridor to the Mulberry Fork. The road was later extended to Elyton (Birmingham) in 1827. It then became known as Stout's Road. Mace Thomas Payne Brindley was given a charter in 1833 to turnpike two roads, one running between Blount Springs to Somerville by way of his homestead in present-day Simcoe, and the second road passing west of Hanceville and east of Downtown Cullman to join Stout's Road north of the city. What later became the Brindley Turnpike became an extension of Stout's Road to Decatur. Cullman later became located between the juncture of the two roads, and…

Geography

Cullman is located on top of the Brindley Mountain plateau which is a close offshoot of the long geographic ridge called Sand Mountain, a southmost extension of the Appalachian Mountains. The elevation is , close to the watershed between the Tennessee River and the Black Warrior River. Cullman provides its own town water supply from a city-owned lake within the city limits, Lake Catoma. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , is water. Downtown was significantly damaged by an EF4 tornado during the 2011 Super Outbreak. Hitting on April 27, it destroyed many buildings in downtown and in an east-side residential area, but caused no fatalities. The twister moved northeast towards Arab and Guntersville, killing two Cullman County residents and at least four others. Cullman has since rebuilt and revitalized the downtown area. The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Cullman has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  484
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  398
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  387
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  358
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  351
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  347
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  318
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  311

Largest nearby schools

• Cullman High School
  High · Cullman · 997 students · 16.3:1 ratio
• Hanceville Elementary School
  Elementary · Hanceville · 624 students · 20.1:1 ratio
• West Point High School
  High · Cullman · 606 students · 23.3:1 ratio
• East Elementary School
  Elementary · Cullman · 594 students · 18.6:1 ratio
• West Elementary School
  Elementary · Cullman · 584 students · 15.8:1 ratio
• Cullman Middle School
  Middle · Cullman · 528 students · 18.9:1 ratio
• Cullman City Primary School
  Elementary · Cullman · 523 students · 18.7:1 ratio
• West Point Elementary School
  Elementary · Cullman · 518 students · 17.3:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.53 — 2026-04-27
  12 km NNE of Trinity, Alabama
• M 2.66 — 2022-08-13
  6 km NW of Hazel Green, Alabama
• M 2.62 — 2020-11-01
  13 km SE of Triana, Alabama
• M 2.87 — 2020-06-25
  4 km NNW of Berry, Alabama
• M 2.53 — 2020-02-08
  13 km S of Moulton, Alabama
• M 2.79 — 2018-07-06
  0 km WSW of Muscle Shoals, Alabama