Timeline of Huntsville, Alabama

The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Huntsville, Alabama, USA.

Prior to 20th century

• 1809 - Town of Twickenham incorporated in U.S. Mississippi Territory.[1]
• 1811 - Twickenham renamed "Huntsville".[1]
• 1812 - Green Academy established.[1]
• 1817
  • Town becomes part of U.S. Alabama Territory.
  • Huntsville Republican newspaper in publication.[2]
• 1818 - Huntsville social library active.[3]
• 1819
  • Alabama Territory constitutional convention held in Huntsville.[4]
  • Town becomes part of new U.S. state of Alabama.
  • Newly formed Alabama Legislature convenes in Huntsville.[1]
• 1820 - Alabama state capital relocated from Huntsville to Cahaba.[1]
• 1822 - Maple Hill Cemetery in use (approximate date).
• 1825 - Southern Advocate and Huntsville Advertiser newspaper in publication.[2]
• 1840 - Population: 2,496.
• 1855 - Memphis and Charleston Railroad begins operating.
• 1860 - Huntsville Depot built.
• 1862 - Huntsville occupied by Union forces during the American Civil War.[5]
• 1870 - Population: 4,907.
• 1888 - Old Federal Square U.S. Post Office and Courts built on corner of Randolph St and Green St
• 1888 - Monte Sano Railroad Workers' House built.
• 1896 - Oakwood College founded.[6]
• 1898 - B’nai Israel Synagogue built.[7]
• 1900 - Population: 8,068.

20th century

• 1910 - Huntsville Daily Times newspaper begins publication.[2]
• 1912 - Lyric Theatre in business.[8]
• 1916 - Carnegie Public Library building opens.[9]
• 1932 - United States Courthouse and Post Office built.
• 1935 - Monte Sano State Park established near city.[6]
• 1937 - WBHP radio begins broadcasting.[10]
• 1938 - Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge established in vicinity of Huntsville.[6]
• 1941 - U.S. military Redstone Arsenal begins operating.[6]
• 1943 - (August) Community Chest, later to becomeUnited Way of Madison County, founded by community leaders
• 1947 - Keller (automobile) production begins.
• 1950
  • Area of city: 4 square miles.[11]
  • Population: 16,437.
• 1951 - Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society formed.[12]
• 1955
  • Huntsville Symphony Orchestra formed.
  • Memorial Parkway is constructed as a bypass around downtown.
• 1957 - Lee High School built.
• 1959 - WAFG-TV (television) begins broadcasting.[13]
• 1960
  • U.S. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center established.[6]
  • Area of city: 51 square miles.[11]
  • Population: 72,365.
• 1962 - Arts Council formed.
• 1964 - Huntsville News begins publication.[14]
• 1968 - Joe W. Davis becomes mayor.
• 1969 - Virgil I. Grissom High School established.
• 1970 - Population: 139,282.
• 1974 - Oakwood Adventist Academy established.
• 1975
  • Von Braun Civic Center (convention centre) opens.
  • Madison County Nature Trail established.
• 1976 - Huntsville Depot museum established.[15]
• 1982
  • Panoply Arts Festival begins.
  • Alabama Constitution Village museum established.[15]
• 1984 - Madison Square Mall in business.[11]
• 1986 - Interstate 565 highway constructed.[11]
• 1988 - Steve Hettinger becomes mayor.
• 1989 - November 1989 tornado outbreak.[6]
• 1990 - Population: 159,880.[11]
• 1993 - Big Spring Jam (music festival) begins.
• 1995 - May 18: Anderson Hills tornado.
• 1996
  • Loretta Spencer becomes mayor.
  • Huntsville News ceases publication.[14]
• 1997 - United States Army Aviation and Missile Command headquartered in Huntsville.[11]

21st century

• 2006 - November 20: 2006 Huntsville bus crash.
• 2008 - Tommy Battle becomes mayor.
• 2010
  • February 12: 2010 University of Alabama in Huntsville shooting.
  • Population: 180,105.[16]
• 2014
  • Area of city: 210 square miles.[11]
  • Twickenham Square shopping/residential complex built.[17]
  • Restore our Roads initiative created to fund a large amount of infrastructure projects to handle projected growth.[18]
• 2020
  • Construction begins on the last segment of the Northern Bypass, connecting Interstate 565 to US 231/431.

See also

• Huntsville, Alabama history
• List of mayors of Huntsville, Alabama
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Huntsville, Alabama
• Timelines of other cities in Alabama: Birmingham, Mobile, Montgomery, Tuscaloosa

References

1. Greg Schmidt. "Huntsville". Encyclopedia of Alabama. Alabama Humanities Foundation. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
2. "US Newspaper Directory". Chronicling America. Washington DC: Library of Congress. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
3. Davies Project. "American Libraries before 1876". Princeton University. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
4. Federal Writers' Project 1941.
5. Brown 1998.
6. Hellmann 2006.
7. "Huntsville, Alabama". Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities. Jackson, Mississippi: Goldring / Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
8. "Movie Theaters in Huntsville, AL". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
9. "Alabama". American Library Annual, 1917-1918. New York: R.R. Bowker Co. 1918.
10. Jack Alicoate, ed. (1939), "Alabama", Radio Annual, New York: Radio Daily, OCLC 2459636
11. City of Huntsville 2016City and Context
12. "Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society". Retrieved March 3, 2017.
13. Charles A. Alicoate, ed. (1960), "Television Stations: Alabama", Radio Annual and Television Year Book, New York: Radio Daily Corp., OCLC 10512206
14. "Goodbye to the Huntsville News", Congressional Record, Washington DC, March 6, 1996
15. American Association for State and Local History (2002). "Alabama: Huntsville". Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States and Canada (15th ed.). p. 18–19. ISBN 0759100020.
16. "Huntsville city, Alabama". QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
17. Discover Huntsville, Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County, 2015
18. "Restore Our Roads". City of Huntsville. Retrieved 2020-07-22.

Bibliography

• John P. Campbell, ed. (1854). "Alabama: Huntsville". Southern Business Directory. Charleston, SC: Press of Walker & James.
• R.H. Long (1863), "Huntsville", Hunt's Gazetteer of the Border and Southern States, Pittsburgh, Pa.: John P. Hunt
• Saffold Berney (1878), "Huntsville", Handbook of Alabama, Mobile: Mobile Register print.
• "Huntsville", Northern Alabama, Birmingham, Ala: Smith & De Land, 1888, OCLC 4215188 – via Internet Archive
• "Huntsville", Encyclopaedia Britannica (11th ed.), New York, 1910, OCLC 14782424
• Edward Chambers Betts (1916). Early History of Huntsville, Alabama, 1804-1870. Brown Printing Company.
• Thomas McAdory Owen (1921). "Huntsville". History of Alabama and Dictionary of Alabama Biography. 1. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company.
• Federal Writers' Project (1941), "Huntsville", Alabama; a Guide to the Deep South, American Guide Series, New York: Hastings House – via HathiTrust
• Huntsville Historical Review, Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society, ISSN 1048-3152 1971-
• Sarah Huff Fisk (1997). Civilization Comes to Big Spring: Huntsville, Alabama 1823. Pinhook.
• Lynda Brown; et al. (1998). "Chronology". Alabama History: an Annotated Bibliography. Greenwood Press. ISBN 978-0-313-28223-2.
• Trimble (2004). "Early Aviation in Rocket City, U.S.A.". Alabama Review. 57. ISSN 0002-4341.
• Christine Dee (2005). "Trying James Hickman: The Politics of Loyalty in a Civil War Community". Alabama Review. 58.
• Ranee G. Pruitt, ed. (2005), Eden of the South: A Chronology of Huntsville, Alabama 1805-2005, Huntsville-Madison County Public Library
• Paul T. Hellmann (2006). "Alabama: Huntsville". Historical Gazetteer of the United States. Taylor & Francis. p. 13. ISBN 1-135-94859-3.
• Whitney Adrienne Snow (2010). "Cotton Mill City: The Huntsville Textile Industry, 1880-1989". Alabama Review. 63.
• Deane K. Dayton (ed.). "Huntsville History Collection". 2011- (Local wiki)
• Huntsville. Images of America. Charleston, S.C.: Arcadia. 2013. ISBN 978-0-73859-891-8.
• The Big Picture, City of Huntsville, 2016. (City plan)

External links

• "Genealogy, History and Archives". Research Guides. Huntsville-Madison County Public Library.
• Items related to Huntsville, various dates (via Digital Public Library of America)
• "Selected Resources for Alabama Counties: Madison County". Birmingham Public Library.
• Kelly Hamlin (ed.). "Education Resources". Huntsville History Collection. (Annotated list of links)
• "Digital Collections". Montgomery: Alabama Department of Archives and History. (Materials related to Huntsville, Ala.)
• "(Huntsville)". Alabama Mosaic. Alabama Commission on Higher Education, Network of Alabama Academic Libraries.
• "(City: Huntsville)". Alabama Repositories Directory. Alabama Department of Archives & History. A listing of public entities and private organizations holding historical records, artifacts, and other cultural heritage materials