Huntsville

Sister cities

• Tainan

History

Due to settlement pressures after the United States gained independence, this area had become largely empty of indigenous peoples by the turn of the 19th century. An Indian trader and boatman named James Ditto established himself at a landing on the river prior to American settlement. Revolutionary War veteran John Hunt was a pioneer in 1805 on land around the Big Spring. The US negotiated an 1805 treaty with the Chickasaw and an 1806 treaty with the Cherokee who ceded their claims to land to the federal government. The area was subsequently purchased by LeRoy Pope, who named it Twickenham after the home village of his distant kinsman Alexander Pope. Thomas Freeman and Roach started government surveys in 1805. Twickenham was carefully planned, with streets laid out in a northeast to southwest direction based on the flow of Big Spring. Given anti-British sentiment during this period after the Revolution and with tensions leading to the War of 1812, in 1811 the town name was changed to "Huntsville" to honor pioneer John Hunt. Both John Hunt and LeRoy Pope were Freemasons and charter members of Helion Lodge #1, the oldest lodge in Alabama. In 1811, Huntsville became the first incorporated town in what is now Alabama. However, the recognized "founding" year of the city is 1805, the year of John Hunt's arrival. David Wade settled in Huntsville in 1817. He built the David Wade House on the north side of what is now Bob Wade Lane (Robert B. Wade was David's grandson), just east of Mt. Lebanon Road. Huntsville's initial growth was based on wealth generated by the sale of cotton from plantations, for which there was international demand, and trade associated with railroad industries. Many wealthy planters moved into the area from Virginia, Georgia, and the Carolinas to…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , is water as of 2023. Huntsville has grown through recent annexations west into Limestone County by in the early 2000s, and south into Morgan County with in 2018. Huntsville also expanded over into Marshall County in 2025 near Hobbs Island, making Huntsville the only municipality in Alabama to be located in 4 counties. Huntsville is so large in fact that its easternmost point and westernmost point are apart and its northernmost point and southernmost point are apart as of September 2025. Huntsville has the 29th largest land area in the United States for cities with a population over 100,000. Huntsville has borders surrounding both the cities of Madison and Triana. Huntsville also borders the cities of Decatur, Athens, Owens Cross Roads, the town of Mooresville as well as the census-designated places of Moores Mill, Meridianville, Lacey's Spring, and Redstone Arsenal. Situated in the Tennessee River valley, Huntsville is partially surrounded by several plateaus, large hills, and mountains. These plateaus are associated with the Cumberland Plateau. Monte Sano Mountain (Spanish for "Mountain of Health") is the most notable and is east of the city, along with Round Top (Burritt), Chapman, Huntsville, and Green mountains. Others are Wade Mountain to the north, Rainbow Mountain to the west, and Weeden and Madkin mountains on the Redstone Arsenal property in the south. Brindley Mountain is visible in the south across the Tennessee River. As with other areas along the Cumberland Plateau, the land around Huntsville is karst in nature. The city was founded around the Big Spring, which is a typical karst spring. Many caves perforate the limestone bedrock underneath the…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  14,747
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  12,078
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  11,605
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,465
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  10,782
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  10,534
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,764
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,291

Largest nearby schools

• Virgil Grissom High School
  High · Huntsville · 1,974 students · 21:1 ratio
• Bob Jones High School
  High · Madison · 1,920 students · 17.6:1 ratio
• Huntsville High School
  High · Huntsville · 1,826 students · 18.4:1 ratio
• Sparkman High School
  High · Harvest · 1,738 students · 19.1:1 ratio
• Liberty Middle School
  Middle · Madison · 1,493 students · 19.1:1 ratio
• Discovery Middle School
  Middle · Madison · 1,334 students · 16.7:1 ratio
• Monrovia Middle School
  Middle · Huntsville · 1,003 students · 20.1:1 ratio
• MidTown Elementary School
  Elementary · Madison · 999 students · 18.2:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.53 — 2026-04-27
  12 km NNE of Trinity, Alabama
• M 2.5 — 2023-12-23
  7 km ENE of Stevenson, Alabama
• M 2.52 — 2023-06-21
  6 km SSE of Sewanee, Tennessee
• 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 2.78 — 2020-05-10
  7 km SSE of Sewanee, Tennessee