Huntsville, Alabama | |
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City of Huntsville | |
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 | |
Country | ![]() |
State | ![]() |
Counties | Madison, Limestone, Morgan[3] |
Established (as Twickenham) | December 23, 1809[4] |
Incorporated (town) | December 9, 1811[5][6] |
Incorporated (city) | February 24, 1860[7] |
Founded by | LeRoy Pope |
Named for | John Hunt |
Government | |
• Type | Mayor–Council |
• Mayor | Tommy Battle (R) |
• Council | Huntsville City Council |
Area | |
• 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 | 581 ft (177 m) |
Population | |
• 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 | 491,723 (US: 111th) |
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]