City of Huntsville

City of Huntsville Municipal Water Report Info

HUNTSVILLE PROFILE

The innovative city of Huntsville, located at the foot of a mountain in North Alabama, beautifully bridges the 19th and 21st centuries. Huntsville's attractions showcase Alabama's first English-speaking settlement, Civil War history, and America's remarkable scientific achievements.

Huntsville boasts a truly diverse population. Among its 190,000 residents, over 10% are international natives speaking more than 100 languages and dialects. Beyond the German scientists who arrived in 1950, Huntsville hosts Korea's largest company's first U.S. manufacturing facility, several Japanese-owned companies, and the headquarters of an international computer manufacturer prominently displaying flags from nations worldwide.

Visitors to Huntsville enjoy numerous engaging activities. The U.S. Space and Rocket Center, Alabama's top tourist destination, offers "astronaut for a day" experiences with hands-on space technology demonstrations. This center also houses the internationally renowned U.S. Space Camp, with satellite operations in Japan, Belgium and Canada.

Downtown museums and the symphony orchestra provide rich cultural experiences, while golf enthusiasts can enjoy the legendary Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail beginning at the 54-hole Hampton Cove Golf Course.

THE BIRTHPLACE OF ALABAMA

The city's namesake, John Hunt, established a cabin near a spring in 1805. The settlement quickly grew to become the Alabama Territory's largest town by 1819 – the same year territorial leaders met here to petition Congress for Alabama's statehood. Today, the reconstructed 1819 Alabama Constitution Village commemorates these historic events through tours led by costumed guides.

During the 1840s-50s, Huntsville emerged as the Tennessee Valley's cotton trading hub, attracting planters and merchants from Virginia and the Carolinas who built impressive homes. LeRoy Pope, who acquired land at auction and donated property for the town, initially named it Twickenham after poet Alexander Pope's London suburb home. Following the War of 1812, the name reverted to Huntsville honoring the area's first settler.

The Twickenham historic district, featuring Alabama's largest collection of pre-Civil War homes, offers popular walking tours year-round. The town avoided destruction during the Civil War as many wealthy residents maintained Union loyalty. Visitors can explore the 1819 Weeden House Museum, 1860 Huntsville Depot Museum, 1879 Harrison Brothers Hardware Store, and the Burritt Museum and Park with its restored 19th-century cabins.

AMERICA'S SPACE CAPITAL

In 1950, Huntsville was still a cotton market town of 16,437 when Senator John Sparkman brought German scientists to Redstone Arsenal to develop rockets for the U.S. Army. By decade's end, Wernher von Braun's team had created the rocket that launched America's first satellite, eventually sending the first American into space and astronauts to the Moon.

Today, Redstone Arsenal remains crucial to the U.S. Army's strategic operations, overseeing research, development, production and worldwide support for rockets, aviation, missiles and related programs. The influx of technical professionals has transformed Huntsville into a cosmopolitan community that maintains its heritage and Southern hospitality.

Despite becoming America's space capital, Huntsville maintains connections to its past. The original "big spring" still flows beneath the 1835 Regions Bank through a beautifully landscaped park. The Huntsville Museum of Art occupies a modern three-story building facing this park, near the Von Braun Center – named for the German-born scientist – which houses an arena, concert hall, theater and meeting facilities.

Travelers arrive via Huntsville International Airport, located just 12 miles west of the city, with approximately 70 daily jet departures and regular direct cargo flights to Europe.