Timeline of Huntsville, Alabama

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

This is a dynamic list and may never be able to satisfy particular standards for completeness. You can help by adding missing items with reliable sources.

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]
• 1835 - A large fire near the Courthouse Square destroys about a dozen buildings. ^[5]
• 1840 - Population: 2,496.
• 1844 - Huntsville was chartered as a city. ^[6]
• 1855 - Memphis and Charleston Railroad begins operating.
• 1860 - Huntsville Depot built.
• 1862 - Huntsville occupied by Union forces during the American Civil War. ^{[7] [6]}
• 1870 - Population: 4,907.
• 1888
  • Old Federal Square U.S. Post Office and Courts built on corner of Randolph St and Green St
  • Monte Sano Railroad Workers' House built.
• 1896 - Oakwood College founded. ^[8]
• 1898 - B’nai Israel Synagogue built. ^[9]
• 1900 - Population: 8,068. ^[6]

20th century

• 1904 - An angry mob sets fire to the city jail during the lead up to the Lynching of Horace Maples. ^[10]
• 1910 - Huntsville Daily Times newspaper begins publication. ^[2]
• 1912 - Lyric Theatre in business. ^[11]
• 1916 - Carnegie Public Library building opens. ^[12]
• 1932 - United States Courthouse and Post Office built.
• 1935 - Monte Sano State Park established near city. ^[8]
• 1937 - WBHP radio begins broadcasting. ^[13]
• 1938 - Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge established in vicinity of Huntsville. ^[8]
• 1941 - U.S. military Redstone Arsenal begins operating. ^[8]
• 1943 - (August) Community Chest, later to become United Way of Madison County, founded by community leaders
• 1947 - Keller (automobile) production begins.
• 1950
  • Area of city: 4 square miles. ^[14]
  • Population: 16,437.
• 1951 - Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society formed. ^[15]
• 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. ^[16]
• 1960
  • U.S. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center established. ^[8]
  • Area of city: 51 square miles. ^[14]
  • Population: 72,365.
• 1962 - Arts Council formed.
• 1964 - Huntsville News begins publication. ^[17]
• 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. ^[18]
• 1982
  • Panoply Arts Festival begins.
  • Alabama Constitution Village museum established. ^[18]
• 1984 - Madison Square Mall in business. ^[14]
• 1986 - Interstate 565 highway construction starts. ^[14]
• 1988 - Steve Hettinger becomes mayor.
• 1989 - November 1989 tornado outbreak. ^[8]
• 1990 - Population: 159,880. ^[14]
• 1993 - Big Spring Jam (music festival) begins.
• 1995 - May 18: Anderson Hills tornado.
• 1996
  • Loretta Spencer becomes mayor.
  • Huntsville News ceases publication. ^[17]
• 1997 - United States Army Aviation and Missile Command headquartered in Huntsville. ^[14]

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. ^[19]
• 2014
  • Area of city: 210 square miles. ^[14]
  • Twickenham Square shopping/residential complex built. ^[20]
  • Restore our Roads initiative created to fund a large amount of infrastructure projects to handle projected growth. ^[21]
• 2018 - A Huntsville police officer, William Darby, shoots and kills a suicidal man seconds after arriving at the scene. ^{[22] [23]} The city council votes to pay the officer's legal defense. Cleared of wrong-doing by the police review board, ^[24] Darby is convicted of murder. ^[25] The mayor and police chief continued to support the officer after the guilt verdict. ^{[26] [27]}
• 2020
  • Construction begins on the next segment of the Northern Bypass, connecting Interstate 565 to US 231/431.
  • A George Floyd protest on June 3, 2020, was ended by Huntsville Police along with SWAT and Incident Response Team ^[28] using tear gas, pepper spray, and rubber bullets. ^{[29] [30] [31]}

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. "Fire on Square - copy, 1835". UAH Archives and Special Collections. Retrieved November 6, 2021.
6. Britannica 1910.
7. Brown 1998.
8. Hellmann 2006.
9. "Huntsville, Alabama". Encyclopedia of Southern Jewish Communities. Jackson, Mississippi: Goldring / Woldenberg Institute of Southern Jewish Life . Retrieved March 3, 2017.
10. "Alabama Mob Hangs Nergo" (PDF). The New York Times. No. Page 1. September 8, 1904. Retrieved August 6, 2021.
11. "Movie Theaters in Huntsville, AL". CinemaTreasures.org. Los Angeles: Cinema Treasures LLC. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
12. "Alabama". American Library Annual, 1917-1918. New York: R.R. Bowker Co. 1918. pp. 7 v. hdl:2027/mdp.39015013751220.
13. Jack Alicoate, ed. (1939), "Alabama", Radio Annual, New York: Radio Daily, OCLC   2459636
14. City of Huntsville 2016City and Context
15. "Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society" . Retrieved March 3, 2017.
16. Charles A. Alicoate, ed. (1960), "Television Stations: Alabama", Radio Annual and Television Year Book, New York: Radio Daily Corp., OCLC   10512206
17. "Goodbye to the Huntsville News", Congressional Record , Washington DC, March 6, 1996
18. American Association for State and Local History (2002). "Alabama: Huntsville". Directory of Historical Organizations in the United States and Canada (15th ed.). Rowman Altamira. pp. 18–19. ISBN   0759100020.
19. "Huntsville city, Alabama". QuickFacts. U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved March 3, 2017.
20. Discover Huntsville, Chamber of Commerce of Huntsville/Madison County, 2015
21. "Restore Our Roads". City of Huntsville. Retrieved July 22, 2020.
22. Beachum, Lateshia (May 8, 2021). "Alabama police officer convicted of murder for shooting suicidal man in 2018". The Washington Post. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
23. "Huntsville Police Officer William Darby found guilty of murder". Nexstar Media Inc. WHNT News 19. May 7, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
24. "Jury convicts Alabama officer of murder in 2018 shooting". FOX News. May 7, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
25. "Officer convicted of murder still gets paid in Alabama". The Associated Press. May 11, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
26. "Police Chief, Mayor release statements on Murder conviction of Officer Darby". WHNT News 19. May 7, 2021. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
27. Remkus, Ashley (May 7, 2021). "Huntsville police officer William Ben Darby convicted of murder for shooting Jeffery Parker". AL.com. The Huntsville Times. Retrieved June 6, 2021.
28. Lightfoot, Franklin & White, LLC (April 22, 2021). "Report by Independent Counsel to The Huntsville Police Citizens Advisory Council" (PDF): 50 of 248. Retrieved August 29, 2021.{{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
29. Klapp, Caroline (April 23, 2021). "Breakdown of 248 page report on Huntsville Police response to June 2020 protests". WAFF 48 News. Gray Media Group, Inc. Station. NBC. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
30. Remkus, Ashley (April 23, 2021). "Protest review finds 'unprofessional' behavior, policy violations by Huntsville police". The Huntsville Times. Retrieved August 29, 2021.
31. "UPDATED: Downtown Huntsville protest ends with riot gas, arrests". WAFF 48 News. Gray Media Group, Inc. NBC. June 4, 2020. Retrieved August 30, 2021.

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"  . Encyclopædia Britannica . Vol. 13 (11th ed.). 1910. p. 955.
• 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. Vol. 1. S. J. Clarke Publishing Company. hdl:2027/mdp.39015078279430.
• Federal Writers' Project (1941), "Huntsville", Alabama; a Guide to the Deep South, American Guide Series, New York: Hastings House, hdl:2027/uc1.b4469723 – 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. Archived from the original on September 25, 2009. A listing of public entities and private organizations holding historical records, artifacts, and other cultural heritage materials