In 1805, John Hunt settled in the area that is known today as Huntsville. At the time, it was called Twickenham after the home of Alexander Pope in England. However, on November 25, 1911 the city was renamed Huntsville. The city has increased in size along the banks of the Tennessee River with the first munitions factories that became textile mills. Today this makes a major part of the city in the south.
The city was originally laid out in a grid like fashion with streets running northeast to southwest in direction. The town of Huntsville was officially incorporated in 1811 as the first town in Alabama. The city honors the date of 1805 as its birth date and celebrated its bicentennial in 2005.
The railroad and cotton industries generated rapid wealth and much growth in the early days in the region. A number of wealthy landowners moved in from Georgia, Virginia and North and South Carolina to plant cotton. The city was named the first capital of Alabama when the area was declared a state. That was for only one ...
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