Editing Huntsville, Alabama (section)

{{Short description|City in North Alabama, US}}
{{redirect|Huntsville}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=March 2024}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Huntsville
| settlement_type    = [[City]]
| nickname           = Rocket City<ref>{{cite news |title=Rocket City, U.S.A. |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,862900,00.html |access-date=December 23, 2022 |agency=Time |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080831094820/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,862900,00.html |archive-date=August 31, 2008 |page=1 |language=en}}</ref>
| motto              = "Star of Alabama"<ref>{{cite web |title=Logo and Identity Standards |url=https://www.huntsvilleal.gov/government/media-center/logo-and-identity-standards/#:~:text=The%20graphic%20elements%20that%20make,and%20communications%20tools%20we%20have. |website=City of Huntsville |access-date=December 23, 2022}}</ref>
<!-- Images --------------->
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 |image1      = Huntsville,_Alabama_(2023).jpg
 |caption1    = Downtown Huntsville
 |image2      = Huntsville Art Museum - front façade and stairs 2023.jpg
 |caption2    = [[Huntsville Museum of Art]]
 |image3      = The U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville, Alabama LCCN2010639646.tif
 |caption3    = [[U.S. Space & Rocket Center]]
 |image4      = Propst Arena, Huntsville Alabama.jpg
 |caption4    = [[Von Braun Center#Propst Arena|Propst Arena]]
 |image5      = William Burritt Mansion Highsmith 02.jpg
 |caption5    = [[Burritt on the Mountain]]
}}
| imagesize          = 
| image_caption      = 
| image_flag         = 
| image_seal         = Huntsville, AL Seal.png
| image_blank_emblem = Huntsville, AL Logo.png
| blank_emblem_type  = Logo
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  | frame-align        = center
  | frame-width        = 270
  | frame-height       = 270
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  | zoom               = 9
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  | marker             = city
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| map_caption        = Interactive map of Huntsville
| pushpin_map        = Alabama#USA
| pushpin_mapsize    = 200px
| pushpin_map_caption = Location within Alabama##Location within the United States
| pushpin_label      = Huntsville
| pushpin_relief     = yes
<!-- Location ------------->
| subdivision_type   = Country
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Alabama]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Alabama|Counties]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Madison County, Alabama|Madison]], [[Limestone County, Alabama|Limestone]], [[Morgan County, Alabama|Morgan]]<ref>{{cite web |last1=Jordan |first1=Michelle |title=City Limits: Explaining the annexation process |url=https://cityblog.huntsvilleal.gov/city-limits-explaining-the-annexation-process/ |website=City of Huntsville |date=February 23, 2018 |access-date=December 24, 2022}}</ref>
<!-- Government ----------->
| government_footnotes = 
| government_type    = [[Mayor–council government|Mayor–Council]]
| leader_party       = [[Republican Party (United States)|R]]
| leader_title       = [[List of mayors of Huntsville, Alabama|Mayor]]
| leader_name        = [[Tommy Battle]]
| leader_title1      = Councilmembers
| leader_name1       = District 1: Michelle Watkins<br>District 2: David Little <br>District 3: Jennie Robinson <br>District 4: Bill Kling <br>District 5: John Meredith
| established_title  = Established (as Twickenham)
| established_date   = December 23, 1809<ref name="alabama-law-1823-twickenham">A Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama: Containing The Statutes and Resolutions in Force at the end of the General Assembly in January 1823. Published by Ginn & Curtis, J. & J. Harper, Printers, New-York, 1828. Title 14. Chapter I. Section 2. pp. 106–107. [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_JvtKAAAAYAAJ/page/n141 <!-- pg=106 --> "An Act directing Courts to be held in the County of Madison, &c.—Passed December 23, 1809(...)Sec 2. And be it further enacted. That the town so laid out shall be known by the name Twickenham." (Internet Archive)]</ref>
| established_title1 = Incorporated (town)
| established_date1  = December 9, 1811<ref>A Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama: Containing The Statutes and Resolutions in Force at the end of the General Assembly in January 1823. Published by Ginn & Curtis, J. & J. Harper, Printers, New-York, 1828. Title 62. Chapter V. pp. 774–775. [https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_JvtKAAAAYAAJ/page/n805 <!-- pg=774 --> "An Act to Incorporate the Town of Huntsville, Madison County —Passed December 9, 1811." (Internet Archive)]</ref><ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JvtKAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA774 |title=A Digest of the Laws of the State of Alabama: Containing The Statutes and Resolutions in Force at the end of the General Assembly in January, 1823 |publisher= Ginn & Curtis, J. & J. Harper, Printers |location=New-York |year= 1828 |chapter=62 – Chapter V. |pages= 774–775}}</ref>
| established_title2 = [[Municipal corporation|Incorporated]] (city)
| established_date2  = February 24, 1860<ref>{{cite book |date=1861 |editor1-last=Acklen |editor1-first=William |title=The Code of Ordinances of the City of Hunstville, With the Charter, Pursuant to an Order of the Mayor and Aldermen |url=https://archive.org/details/codeofordinances00hunt |location=Huntsville, Ala. |publisher=William B. Figures, Printer |access-date=June 25, 2015}}</ref>
| founder            = [[LeRoy Pope]]
| named_for          = John Hunt
<!-- Area ----------------->
| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2023">{{cite web|title=2023 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2023_Gazetteer/2023_gaz_place_01.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=March 13, 2024}}</ref>
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_total_km2     = 583.19
| area_land_km2      = 579.21
| area_water_km2     = 3.98
| area_total_sq_mi   = 225.17
| area_land_sq_mi    = 223.63
| area_water_sq_mi   = 1.54
<!-- Population ----------->
| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
| population_est     = 241,114 {{gain}}
| pop_est_as_of      = 2025
| pop_est_footnotes  = 
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total   = 215006
| population_density_km2 = 388.3
| population_density_sq_mi = 1006
| population_rank    = US: [[List of United States cities by population|100th]]<br>AL: [[List of municipalities in Alabama|1st]]
| population_urban   = 329066 (US: [[List of United States urban areas|122nd]])
20165 (Southeast)
| population_density_urban_km2 = 591.6
| population_density_urban_sq_mi = 1,532.2
| population_metro   = 514465 (US: [[Metropolitan statistical area|109th]])
| population_density_metro_km2 = 145.9
| population_density_metro_sq_mi = 378
| population_blank1_title = [[Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area|Combined]]
| population_blank1  = 879315 (US: [[Combined statistical area|68th]])
| population_density_blank1_km2 = 98.57
| population_density_blank1_sq_mi = 255.3
| population_demonym = Huntsvillian
<!-- General information -->
| timezone           = [[Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
| utc_offset         = −6
| timezone_DST       = CDT
| utc_offset_DST     = −5
| elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_m        = 176
| elevation_ft       = 577
| coordinates        = {{coord|34|41|36|N|86|33|39|W|region:US-AL|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP Code]]s
| postal_code        = 35801–35816, 35824, 35893–35899
| area_code          = [[Area codes 256 and 938|256 and 938]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 01-37000
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 2404746<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2404746}}</ref>
| website            = {{URL|https://www.huntsvilleal.gov/|huntsvilleal.gov}}
| footnotes          = 
}}

'''Huntsville''' is the [[List of municipalities in Alabama|most populous city]] in the U.S. state of [[Alabama]]. The population of the city is estimated to be 241,114 in 2025,<ref>https://maps.huntsvilleal.gov/HuntsvilleStats/</ref>  making it the [[List of United States cities by population|102nd-most populous city in the U.S.]]<ref>{{Cite news|date=August 12, 2021|title=Huntsville rockets past Birmingham in Census, now Alabama's largest city|language=en|publisher=[[The Birmingham News|AL.COM]]|url=https://www.al.com/news/2021/08/huntsville-rockets-past-birmingham-in-2020-census-now-alabamas-largest-city.html |access-date=August 12, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=QuickFacts Huntsville city, Alabama |url=https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/huntsvillecityalabama/PST045223 |access-date=4 May 2025 |website=[[United States Census Bureau]]}}</ref> The [[Huntsville metropolitan area]] had an estimated 514,465 residents and is the second-most populous metro area in the state, after [[Birmingham metropolitan area, Alabama|Birmingham]]. Huntsville is the seat of [[Madison County, Alabama|Madison County]], with portions extending into [[Limestone County, Alabama|Limestone County]] and [[Morgan County, Alabama|Morgan County]].

Huntsville is located in the [[Appalachia]]n region of [[North Alabama|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 [[United States Army|U.S. Army]] established [[Redstone Arsenal]] in the vicinity, with a chemical weapons plant and related facilities. After the war, additional research was conducted at Redstone Arsenal on [[rocket]]s, followed by adaptations for space exploration. NASA's [[Marshall Space Flight Center]], the [[United States Army Aviation and Missile Command]], and most recently the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI's]] operational support headquarters, all were sited at Redstone Arsenal.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Strategic Realignment: Huntsville|url=https://www.fbi.gov/about/strategic-realignment-huntsville|access-date=October 17, 2021|website=Federal Bureau of Investigation|language=en-us}}</ref>
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