Huntsville
is a city centrally located in the northernmost part of the U.S. state
of Alabama. It is located in Madison County and extends west into neighboring
Limestone county. Huntsville is the county seat of Madison County, and
the fourth-largest city in Alabama. The 2000 census estimated Huntsville's
population at 158,216, while in 2008, the estimated population grew to
176,645. The Huntsville Metropolitan Area's population was estimated at
395,645. Huntsville is the largest city in the four-county Huntsville-Decatur
Combined Statistical Area, which in 2008 had a total population of 545,770.
John Hunt first settled in
the location in 1805. It was named Twickenham after Alexander Pope's English
home at the request of LeRoy Pope. However, the town was renamed "Huntsville"
on November 25, 1811 after its first settler. It has grown across nearby
hills and along the Tennessee River, adding textile mills, then munitions
factories, to become a major city, including NASA's Marshall Space Flight
Center and the United States Army Aviation and Missile Command nearby at
the Redstone Arsenal. The National Trust for Historic Preservation named
Huntsville to its "America's Dozen Distinctive Destinations for 2010" list.
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