Huntsville

Huntsville is located in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama, south of the state of Tennessee. It was founded within the Mississippi Territory in 1805 and became an incorporated town in 1811. When Alabama was admitted as a state in 1819, Huntsville was designated for a year as the first capital, before the state capitol was moved to more central settlements. The city developed across nearby hills north of the Tennessee River, adding textile mills in the late nineteenth century.

Major growth in Huntsville took place in the decades following World War II. During the war, the U.S. Army established Redstone Arsenal in the vicinity, with a chemical weapons plant and related facilities.