256 Area Code 🌍☎️

Huntsville is Alabama's most populous city with a population of 215,006 at the 2020 census and an estimated 249,102 as of July 2025, making it the 100th-most populous U.S. city and among the top 20 fastest-growing cities in America. Located in northern Alabama's Appalachian region as the county seat of Madison County, the city was founded in 1805 by Revolutionary War veteran John Hunt and briefly served as Alabama's first state capital in 1819 before development centered on textile mills and cotton plantation wealth. Major post-World War II growth followed the establishment of Redstone Arsenal, which evolved into a major defense and aerospace hub hosting NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, the FBI's operational support headquarters, and the United States Space Command. The city's economy transformed from agricultural and textile-based industries to become a leader in rocket research, space exploration, and military operations during the Cold War and beyond. With a metropolitan area population of 542,000 residents, Huntsville is the second-most populous metropolitan area in Alabama and a significant center for aerospace, defense, and technology innovation. Decatur is the largest city and county seat of Morgan County in northern Alabama, located on Wheeler Lake along the Tennessee River and nicknamed "The River City," with a population of 57,938 at the 2020 census. The city was incorporated in 1821 and named in honor of Commodore Stephen Decatur following his death in a duel in 1820. Decatur's early prosperity stemmed from its strategic location on the Tennessee River and its role as the eastern terminus of the Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur Railroad, the first railroad built west of the Appalachian Mountains in the early 1830s, making it a major hub for cargo and travelers between Nashville, Mobile, Chattanooga, and New Orleans. The city endured significant destruction during the American Civil War when Union forces occupied it and demolished all but four buildings, three of which still stand today including the Burleson-Hinds-McEntire House where Battle of Shiloh plans were mapped. Modern Decatur's economy is driven by manufacturing, mining, chemical, and high-tech companies including Vulcan Materials, Daikin, Toray, and United Launch Alliance, though it was eclipsed as the regional economic center by Huntsville during the space race era. Anniston is the county seat of Calhoun County in Alabama and a principal city of the Anniston-Oxford Metropolitan Statistical Area with a 2020 population of 21,564. Named "The Model City" by Atlanta newspaperman Henry W. Grady for its late-19th-century planned development, the city was chartered in 1879 and opened to the public in 1883, deriving its name from Annie, the daughter-in-law of Woodstock Iron Company founder Union General Daniel Tyler. Economic growth stemmed from iron, steel, and clay pipe production alongside its marketing as a health resort, and Anniston became the first city in Alabama to be lit by electricity in 1882, ranking as the state's fifth-largest city by 1941. The city hosted two major military installations: Fort McClellan, established in 1917 for World War I training, and the Anniston Army Depot, which opened during World War II as a weapons storage facility and continues operating today. Anniston gained national prominence during the Civil Rights Movement on May 14, 1961, when a mob firebombed a Freedom Riders bus outside the city, an attack that was thwarted when the fuel tank exploded and 12-year-old Janie Forsyth brought water to aid the injured riders.