According to Electronicsmatter, Huntsville is one of the fastest growing cities in the Southeastern US, Alabama . Huntsville seamlessly blends the rich history of Southern hospitality with innovative high-tech enterprises and cultural diversity. The Rocket City, famous for the US Space & Rocket Center and its part in the race to the moon, is growing fast. This beautiful city continues to attract the best scientists and engineers in the country and is also experiencing a renaissance. Restaurants, shops, craft breweries and other social hotspots are popping up and thriving everywhere.

6 Attractions in Huntsville, Alabama that you can’t miss

1.US Space & Rocket Center

Spend a day at the US Space & Rocket Center. Explore the history of space exploration or get hands-on with the interactive exhibits. People of all generations can feel like an astronaut for a day or a week! See the National Historic Landmark – an authentic Saturn V moon rocket – one of only three on display in the world! Explore the development and evolution of the Space Shuttle program to the International Space Station and learn about NASA’s latest innovations. Enjoy incredible artifacts from our nation’s space program, hands-on interactive exhibits, space travel simulators, and INTUTIVE planetarium shows. The USSRC is also home to week-long Space Camp®, Aviation Challenge® Camp, and Robotics Camp programs. Additional amenities include free parking, restaurants, gift shops, strollers and dog kennels. Stay for an hour or stay for a week… there is something for everyone!

2.Huntsville Botanical Garden

The Huntsville Botanical Garden is open year-round and contains diverse ecosystems to explore within its 112 acres. From grassy meadows to forest trails, aquatic habitats to beautiful collections of flowers, the garden invites guests of all ages to discover the beauty and wonder of the natural environment. Hike along the nature trails as you admire collections of Alabama’s native plants. Unlock the Children’s Garden after meeting the fluttering butterflies in the country’s largest open-air butterfly house. Find peace in the cool shade of the trees, surrounded by the sounds of nature. With additional events, exhibits, and programs throughout the year, the garden is a source of plant conservation, education, and celebration for all.

3.Monte Sano State Park

Monte Sano, Spanish for “Mountain of Health”, rises more than 500 meters above sea level. The mountain has attracted visitors since the mid-1820s with the establishment of the town of Viduta, a derivative of the Spanish word “Vida”, meaning life. Viduta was home to a sanatorium and hotel resort, Hotel Monte Sano, which opened in 1887 and closed in the early 1900s due to a declining economy. Located in downtown Huntsville, 2,500 acres of nature offers 14 vacation homes, camping grounds, picnic areas and pavilions, hiking and biking trails, playgrounds, and flower gardens.

4.Twickenham Historic District

Did you know Alabama’s largest Antebellum district is in the heart of Huntsville? Take a step back in time as you pass through rows of pre-Civil War homes built in the beautiful architectural style of early America. If you’re an architecture enthusiast or just enjoy looking at historic homes, a tour of the Twickenham District is a must-do activity on your next trip to Huntsville.

5.Historic Huntsville Depot

Climb on locomotives, see Civil War graffiti, and listen as guides talk about working on the railroads. It is home to Rocket City BBQ Cook-Off and Whistle Stop Festival. The Huntsville Depot was used as a hospital, Union prison, and residence for both black and white Union soldiers, who left graffiti on the walls of the third floor.

6.Big Spring International Park

Big Spring International Park lured settlers to Huntsville more than 200 years ago, and the city has been celebrating it ever since – growing up around this green space and preserving it for its citizens. The park hosts numerous events including Panoply Arts Festival, Concerts in the Park and many more. Kids will love the famously friendly ducks, geese and koi that call the Big Spring home. As you explore, keep an eye out for the famous red bridge and cherry trees that were gifts to the city from Japan.

According to Abbreviationfinder, Alabama is a state of the United States of America, located in the southern part of the nation. Its state capital is the city of Montgomery. Bounded by the state of Tennessee to the north, by the state of Georgia to the east, by the Gulf of Mexico and Florida to the south, and by the state of Mississippi to the west. It is located in a geographical position between the coordinates 30˚ 13 ‘North at 35˚ N latitude and 84˚ 51’ West at 88˚ 28 ‘longitude. The state was founded on December 14, 1819. It ranks 30th in size and 23rd in population out of the country’s 50 states

Etymology

The name Alabama comes from an ancient tribe called Alibamu, a name that was also given to the Alabama River, which in the language of the Choctaw Native Americans means “scrub cleaner.”

It is known as the “Woodpecker State” (“Yellowhammer State”), for a term applied to its confederate troops. In addition, it is nicknamed the “Heart of the Southern States” (“Heart of Dixie”) and the “State of Camellia” (“Camellia State”).

History

The archaeological remains and the burial mounds reveal that the territory was populated for at least 9,000 years. The territory was occupied by Native Americans from the Cherokee, Creek, Chotaw, and Chickasaw tribes.

The first Europeans to explore Alabama were Spanish, such as Alonso Piñeda, in 1519, and Pánfilo de Narváez, in 1528.

The Spanish Juan Ponce de León and Albar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca were the first to arrive and discover all this territory, which they named La Florida. The territory then comprised the current states of Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Mississippi and Alabama.

In 1540 the first expedition arrived in the lands of Alabama under the command of the Spanish Hernando de Soto. In 1558 Hernando de Soto faced the Native Americans in command of Tascalusa in the Battle of Mabila, today Mobile.

Another Spaniard, Tristán de Luna founds a settlement in Mobile but is destroyed by a hurricane.

In 1701 the French founded Fort Louis in Mobile, the center of the Louisiana colony, but in 1722 they moved it to New Orleans. In 1763 the English, through the Treaty of Paris, get Alabama as part of West Florida.

During the War of Independence against the British, the Spanish troops under the command of Bernardo de Gálvez defeat the English in naval battles and recover West Florida for Spain.

In 1813 the Creek and Seminole Native American tribes rebelled against the Spanish. Taking advantage of this occasion and arguing that they were harming the Americans in the area, Andrew Jackson enters Spanish territory and defeats the natives in the Battle of Horseshoe. In 1819 Spain sold the entire territory to the United States through the Onis-Adams Treaty. Alabama ratifies the constitution and enters the Union as the 22nd state. In 1861 Alabama summons the southern states to a meeting in Montgomery where they decide to separate from the Union and create the Confederation of America with its capital in Montgomery. A few months later the capital is transferred to Richmond, Virginia. Northern troops attack Selma, Montgomery, and Tuscaloosa, defeating southern troops.

The election of President Abraham Lincoln led to the organization of an extraordinary convention that voted to secede from the Union in January 1861. Montgomery became the first capital of the Confederate States of America, whose president, Jefferson Davis, was appointed in February of that same anus. In December 1865 a new Constitution was approved for the state, which recognized the abolition of slavery.

In 1868 Alabama rejoins the Union.

In 1960 Governor George Wallace promised that black and white racial segregation would continue in the state.

The hegemony of the white population was definitively consolidated with the State Constitution of 1901, which prohibited blacks from voting. In the spring of 1963, a series of demonstrations in Birmingham, led by Martin Luther King, ended with the mass arrest of many leaders, but marked the beginning of a series of campaigns to recognize the civil rights of the black population.

The dominant political figure since the early 1960s was George Corley Wallace, a staunch segregationist who subsequently gained the support of the black population.

In 1963, Martin Luther King was imprisoned for organizing the protest against the separation of seats between whites and blacks in public transport. In 1965 the “Civil Rights Law” ended with segregation and in 1982 Oscar Adams was elected as a judge of the Supreme Court of the State of Alabama, making him the first black man to hold a position of that category in that state.. Since the 1980s, numerous blacks have been elected sheriffs, representatives in Congress and mayors in the most important cities of Alabama, including Birmingham, especially in the nuclei with a strong percentage of black population given the pattern of voting in block of this group.

The last governors of the state have been James E. Folsom Cullman (1993–1995), who took power after the removal of Guy Hunt for violation of the ethical code, Forrest “Fob” James Lee (1995–1999), and Don Siegelman, of the Democratic Party, elected to office until 2003.

Administrative division

According to CountryAAH.com, the state of Alabama consists of 67 counties and the following major cities:

· Autauga· Baldwin · Barbour · Bibb · Blount · Bullock · Butler · Calhoun · Chambers · Cherokee · Chilton · Choctaw · Clarke · Clay · Cleburne · Coffee · Colbert · Conecuh · Coosa · Covington · Crenshaw · Cullman · Go ahead · Dallas · DeKalb · Elmore · Escambia · Etowah · Fayette · Franklin · Geneva · Greene · Hale

· Henry· Houston · Jackson · Jefferson · The sea · Lauderdale · Lawrence · read · Limestone · Lowndes · Macon · Madison · Marengo · Marion · Marshall · Mobile · Monroe · Montgomery · Morgan · Perry · Pickens · Pike · Randolph · Russell · Shelby · St. Clair · Sumter · Talladega · Tallapoosa · Tuscaloosa · Walker · Washington · Wilcox · Winston

Alabama’s Big Cities

· Birmingham· Montgomery · Mobile · Huntsville · Tuscaloosa · Hoover · Dothan · Decatur · Auburn · Madison · Florence · Gadsden · Vestavia Hills · Prattville · Phenix City · Alabaster · Bessemer · Enterprise · Opelika · Homewood

· Northport· Anniston · Prichard · Athens · Daphne · Pelham · Oxford · Albertville · Selma · Mountain Brook · Trussville · Troy · Center Point · Helena · Hueytown · Talladega · Fairhope · Ozark · Alexander City · Cullman

Geography

Located in a geographical position between the coordinates 30˚ 13 ‘North at 35˚ N latitude and 84˚ 51’ West at 88˚ 28 ‘longitude.

Montgomery, on the banks of the Alabama River, is its capital. The largest and most important cities are Birmingham, Mobile, Huntsville, Tuscaloosa, Hoover, Dothan, Decatur, Gadsden, and Auburn.

Location

It is located in the southeast of the US It is bordered to the north by the state of Tennessee, to the south by Florida and the Gulf of Mexico, to the east by Georgia and to the west by the state of Mississippi.