Huntsville is a city in the Appalachian region of northern Alabama.^[10] It is the county seat of Madison County^[11] but extends west into neighboring Limestone County^[12] and south into Morgan County.^[13]

It was founded in 1805 and became an incorporated town in 1811. The city grew across nearby hills north of the Tennessee River, adding textile mills, then munitions factories, 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.^[14]

The city's population was 180,105 in 2010, making it Alabama's fourth-largest city.^[7][15] Huntsville is the largest city in the five-county Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL Combined Statistical Area.^[16] The Huntsville metropolitan area's population was 417,593 in 2010,^[17] making it the second most populous metropolitan area in the state.^[18] The Huntsville metro's population reached 462,693 by 2018.^[19]

The first settlers of the area were Muscogee-speaking people.^[20] The Chickasaw traditionally claim to have settled around 1300 after coming east across the Mississippi. A combination of factors, including disease, land disputes between the Choctaw and Cherokee, and pressures from the United States government had largely depopulated the area by the time Revolutionary War veteran John Hunt settled in the land around the Big Spring in 1805. The 1805 Treaty with the Chickasaws and the Cherokee Treaty of Washington of 1806 ceded native claims to the United States Government. The area was subsequently purchased by LeRoy Pope, who named the area Twickenham after the home village of his distant kinsman Alexander Pope.^[21]

Twickenham was carefully planned, with streets laid out on the northeast to southwest direction based on the flow of Big Spring. However, due to anti-British sentiment during this period, the name was changed to "Huntsville" to honor John Hunt, who had been forced to move to other land south of the new city.^[22]

Both John Hunt and LeRoy Pope were Freemasons and charter members of Helion Lodge #1, the oldest Lodge in Alabama.^[23]

In 1811, Huntsville became the first incorporated town in Alabama. However, the recognized "founding" year of the city is 1805, the year of John Hunt's arrival. The city celebrated its sesquicentennial in 1955^[24] and its bicentennial in 2005.^[25]

David Wade arrived in Huntsville in 1817. He built the David Wade House on the north side of what is now Bob Wade Lane (Robert B. Wade was David's grandson) just east of Mt. Lebanon Road. It had six rough Doric columns on the portico.

During the Great Depression, the Wade House was measured as part of the Historic American Buildings Survey (HABS) to be included in the government's Archive and was photographed by Frances Benjamin Johnston for the project. This project put architects, draftsmen, and photographers to work to create an inventory of documentation and photographs of significant properties across the country. The house had already been abandoned for years and was considerably deteriorated. It was torn down in 1952. Today only the antebellum smokehouse, an imposing structure itself, survives at the property.^[26]

Huntsville's quick growth was from wealth generated by the cotton and railroad industries. Many wealthy planters moved into the area from Virginia, Georgia, and the Carolinas. In 1819, Huntsville hosted a constitutional convention in Walker Allen's large cabinetmaking shop. The 44 delegates meeting there wrote a constitution for the new state of Alabama. In accordance with the new state constitution, Huntsville became Alabama's first capital when the state was admitted to the Union. This was a temporary designation for one legislative session only. The capital was moved to more central cities: to Cahawba, then to Tuscaloosa, and finally to Montgomery.

In 1855, the Memphis and Charleston Railroad was constructed through Huntsville, becoming the first railway to link the Atlantic seacoast with the lower Mississippi River.

Huntsville initially opposed secession from the Union in 1861, but provided many men for the Confederacy's efforts. The 4th Alabama Infantry Regiment, led by Col. Egbert J. Jones of Huntsville, distinguished itself at the Battle of Manassas/Bull Run, the first major encounter of the American Civil War. The Fourth Alabama Infantry, which contained two Huntsville companies, were the first Alabama troops to fight in the war and were present when Lee surrendered to Grant at Appomattox Court House in April 1865. Eight generals of the war were born in or near Huntsville, evenly split with four on each side.

On the morning of April 11, 1862, Union troops led by General Ormsby M. Mitchel seized Huntsville in order to sever the Confederacy's rail communications and gain access to the Memphis & Charleston Railroad. Huntsville was the control point for the Western Division of the Memphis & Charleston,^[27] and by controlling this railroad the Union had struck a major blow to the Confederacy.

During the first occupation, Union officers occupied many of the larger homes in the city while the enlisted soldiers camped mainly on the outskirts. In the initial occupation, the Union troops searched for both Confederate troops hiding in the town and weapons. Since they occupied the city, treatment toward Huntsville was relatively civil. However, residents of the nearby towns did not fare as well.^[28]

The Union troops were forced to retreat only a few months later, but they returned to Huntsville in the fall of 1863 and thereafter used the city as a base of operations for the war, except during the last months of 1864. While many homes and villages in the surrounding countryside were burned in retaliation for the active guerrilla warfare in the area, Huntsville itself survived because it housed Union Army troops.

After the Civil War, Huntsville became a center for cotton textile mills, such as Lincoln, Dallas, and Merrimack. Each mill company constructed worker housing, in communities that included schools, churches, grocery stores, theaters, and hardware stores, all within walking distance of the mill. In some of these, workers were required to buy goods at the company stores, which sometimes overcharged them. The mill owners could throw out workers from housing if they violated policies about behavior.

Robert Mosley, an African-American man, was hanged in Huntsville on March 22, 1890 by a white lynch mob. He was among the 10 black men that were lynched in Madison County, Alabama from 1877 to 1950.^[29]

A dairy cow called Lily Flagg broke the world record for butter production in 1892. Her Huntsville-resident owner General Samuel H. Moore painted his house butter yellow and organized a party to celebrate, arranging for electric lights for the dance floor.^[30] An area south of Huntsville was named Lily Flagg before 1906.^[31][32] This area was later annexed by the city.

During the 1930s, industry declined in Huntsville due to the Great Depression. Huntsville became known as the Watercress Capital of the World^[33] because of its abundant harvest in the area. Madison County led Alabama in cotton production during this time.^[33]

By 1940, Huntsville was still relatively small, with a population of about 13,000 inhabitants. This quickly changed in early 1941 when the U.S. Army selected 35,000 acres (140 km2) of land adjoining the southwest area of the city for building three chemical munitions facilities: the Huntsville Arsenal, the Redstone Ordnance Plant (soon redesignated Redstone Arsenal), and the Gulf Chemical Warfare Depot. These operated throughout World War II, with combined personnel approaching 20,000. Resources in the area were strained as new workers flocked to the area, and the construction of housing could not keep up.^[34]

At the end of the war in 1945, the munitions facilities were no longer needed. They were combined with the designation Redstone Arsenal (RSA), and a considerable political and business effort was made in attempts to attract new tenants. One significant start involved manufacturing the Keller automobile, but this closed after 18 vehicles were built. With the encouragement of US Senator John Sparkman, the U.S. Army Air Force considered this for a major testing facility, but then selected another site. Redstone Arsenal was prepared for disposal, but Sparkman used his considerable Southern Democratic influence (the Solid South controlled numerous powerful chairmanships of congressional committees) to persuade the Army to choose it as a site for rocket and missile development.^[35]

In 1950, about 1,000 personnel were transferred from Fort Bliss, Texas, to Redstone Arsenal to form the Ordnance Guided Missile Center (OGMC). Central to this was a group of about 200 German scientists and engineers, led by Wernher von Braun; they had been brought to America by Colonel Holger Toftoy under Operation Paperclip following World War II. Assigned to the center at Huntsville, they settled and reared families in this area.^[36]

As the Korean War started, the OGMC was given the mission to develop what eventually became the Redstone Rocket. This rocket set the stage for the United States' space program, as well as major Army missile programs, to be centered in Huntsville. Toftoy, then a brigadier general, commanded OGMC and the overall Redstone Arsenal. In early 1956, the Army Ballistic Missile Agency (ABMA) under Major General John Medaris was formed.^[35]

The city is nicknamed "The Rocket City" for its close association with U.S. space missions. On January 31, 1958, ABMA placed America's first satellite, Explorer 1, into orbit using a Jupiter-C launch vehicle, a descendant of the Redstone. This brought national attention to Redstone Arsenal and Huntsville, with widespread recognition of this being a major center for high technology.

On July 1, 1960, 4,670 civilian employees, associated buildings and equipment, and 1,840 acres (7.4 km2) of land, transferred from ABMA to form NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). Wernher von Braun was MSFC's initial director. On September 8, President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally dedicated the MSFC.^[37]

During the 1960s, the major mission of MSFC was in developing the Saturn boosters used by NASA in the Apollo Lunar Landing Program. For this, MSFC greatly increased its employees, and many new companies joined the Huntsville industrial community. The Cummings Research Park was developed just north of Redstone Arsenal to partially accommodate this industrial growth, and has now became the second-largest research park of this type in America.

Huntsville's economy was nearly crippled and growth almost came to a standstill in the 1970s following the closure of the Apollo program. However, the emergence of the Space Shuttle, the International Space Station, and a wide variety of advanced research in space sciences led to a resurgence in NASA-related activities that has continued into the 21st century. In addition, new Army organizations have emerged at Redstone Arsenal, particularly in the ever-expanding field of missile defense.

Now in the 2000s, Huntsville has the second-largest technology and research park in the nation,^[38] and ranks among the top 25 most educated cities in the nation.^[39][40][41] It is considered in the top of the nation's high-tech hotspots,^[42][43] and one of the best Southern cities for defense jobs,^[44] It is the number one United States location for engineers most satisfied with the recognition they receive,^[45] with high average salary and low median gross rent.^[46]

More than 25 biotechnology firms have developed in Huntsville due to the Huntsville Biotech Initiative.^[47] The HudsonAlpha Institute for Biotechnology is the centerpiece of the 150-acre Cummings Research Park Biotech Campus, part of the 4,000-acre Cummings Research Park, which is second only to North Carolina's Research Triangle Park in land area. The non-profit HudsonAlpha Institute has contributed genomics and genetics work to the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements (ENCODE). For-profit business ventures within the Biotech Campus focus on subjects such as infectious disease diagnostics, immune responses to disease and cancer, protein crystallization, lab-on-a-chip technologies, and improved agricultural technologies. The University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) created a doctoral program in biotechnology to help develop scientists to support HudsonAlpha in addition to the emerging biotechnology economy in Huntsville. The university's strategic plan has biotechnology as one of its emerging fields for future education and research.^[48]

Huntsville is located at 34°42′N 86°35′W ^[225] (34.7, -86.6).^[49] The city has a total area of 210.0 square miles (543.9 km2).^[50] Huntsville has grown through recent annexations west into Limestone County, a total of 21.5 square miles (56 km2), or 13,885 acres (5,619 ha).^[51]

Situated in the Tennessee River valley, Huntsville is partially surrounded by several plateaus and large hills. These plateaus are associated with the Cumberland Plateau, and are locally called "mountains". Monte Sano Mountain (Spanish for "Mountain of Health") is the most notable, and is east of the city along with Round Top (Burritt), Chapman, Huntsville, and Green mountains.^[52] Others are Wade Mountain to the north, Rainbow Mountain to the west, and Weeden and Madkin mountains on the Redstone Arsenal property in the south. Brindley Mountain is visible in the south across the Tennessee River.

As with other areas along the Cumberland Plateau, the land around Huntsville is karst in nature. The city was founded around the Big Spring, which is a typical karst spring. Many caves perforate the limestone bedrock underneath the surface, as is common in karst areas. The National Speleological Society is headquartered in Huntsville.

The city is primarily surrounded by unincorporated land. The following incorporated areas border parts of the city:^[53]

Several unincorporated communities also border Huntsville, including:

The Huntsville city limits expanded west to wrap around and in 2011 fully surrounded the neighboring city of Madison.^[53]

Huntsville has a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa). It experiences hot, humid summers and generally mild winters, with average high temperatures ranging from near 90 °F (32.2 °C) in the summer to 49 °F (9.4 °C) during winter.

Huntsville is near the center of a large area of the U.S. mid-South that has maximum precipitation in the winter and spring, not summer. Average yearly precipitation is more than 54 inches. On average, the wettest single month is December, but Huntsville has a prolonged wetter season from November to April, with (on average) 5 or more inches of precipitation each of those months. The relatively drier months are from August to October. Droughts can occur in the summer, but usually there is enough rainfall to keep things very lush and humid. Much of Huntsville's precipitation is delivered by thunderstorms. Thunderstorms are most frequent during the spring, and the most severe storms occur during the spring and late fall. These storms can deliver large hail, damaging straight-line winds, and tornadoes. Huntsville lies in a region colloquially known as Dixie Alley, an area more prone to violent, long-track tornadoes than most other parts of the US.^[55][56]

On April 27, 2011, the largest tornado outbreak on record, the 2011 Super Outbreak, affected northern Alabama. During this event, an EF5 tornado that tracked near the Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant destroyed many transmission towers and caused a multi-day power outage for the majority of North Alabama. That same tornado also resulted in considerable damage to the Anderson Hills subdivision and in Harvest, Alabama. In total, nine people were killed in Madison County, and many others injured.^[57] Other significant tornado events include the Super Outbreak in April 1974, the November 1989 Tornado Outbreak that killed 21 and injured almost 500, and the Anderson Hills Tornado that killed one and caused extensive damage in 1995.^[58][59] On January 21, 2010, Huntsville experienced a rare mid-winter tornado. It registered EF2 on the Enhanced Fujita scale and resulted in moderate damage. Because it was not rain-wrapped and was easily photographed, it received extensive media coverage.^[60]

Since Huntsville is nearly 300 miles (480 km) inland, hurricanes rarely arrive with their full force; however, many weakened tropical storms cross the area after a U.S. Gulf Coast landfall. While most winters have some measurable snow, heavy snow is rare in Huntsville. However, there have been some unusually heavy snowstorms, like the New Year's Eve 1963 snowstorm, when 17 in (43 cm) fell within 24 hours. Likewise, the Blizzard of 1993 and the Groundhog Day snowstorm in February 1996 were substantial winter events for Huntsville. On Christmas Day 2010, Huntsville recorded over 4 inches (10 cm) of snow, and on January 9–10, 2011 it received from 8.9 inches (23 cm) at the airport and up to 10 inches (25 cm) in the suburbs.^[61]

As of the census of 2000, there were 158,216 people, 66,742 households, and 41,713 families residing in the city. The population density was 909.0 people per square mile (351.0/km2). There were 73,670 housing units at an average density of 423.3 per square mile (163.4/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 64.47% White, 30.21% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 2.22% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.66% from other races, and 1.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.04% of the population. Non-Hispanic Whites were 58% of the population in 2010,^[66] compared to 86.9% in 1970.^[67]

There were 66,742 households out of which 27.6% had children living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.5% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.29 and the average family size was 2.91. Same-sex couple households comprised 0.5% of all households.

As of the census of 2010, there were 180,105 people, 77,033 households, and 45,416 families residing in the city. The population density was 857.6 people per square mile (332.7/km2). There were 84,949 housing units at an average density of 405.3 per square mile (156.9/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 60.3% White, 31.2% Black or African American, 0.6% Native American, 2.4% Asian, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 2.9% from other races, and 2.5% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.8% of the population.

There were 77,033 households out of which 24.9% had children living with them, 40.1% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.0% were non-families. 34.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.25 and the average family size was 2.91.

The current mayor of Huntsville is Tommy Battle, who was first elected in 2008 and then re-elected in 2012 and 2016. The City Administrator is John Hamilton, who replaced Rex Reynolds on January 1, 2014 when Reynolds retired.^[68] The city has a five-member/district City Council. The current members are:^[69]

Council elections are staggered, meaning that Districts 2, 3, and 4 had elections in August 2018, while Districts 1 and 5 had elections simultaneously with mayoral elections in 2020.

The city has boards and commissions which control everything from schools and planning to museums and downtown development.

In July 2007, then Senator Barack Obama held the first fundraiser in Alabama for his Presidential campaign in Huntsville. Obama ended up winning the Alabama Democratic Primary and Madison County by large margins in 2008. However, in the general election, John McCain carried Madison County with 57% of the vote.

See also: List of mayors of Huntsville, Alabama

In 2007, Mayor Loretta Spencer combined the police, fire, and animal services departments to create the Department of Public Safety.^[70] The former chief of police was appointed as its director. The new department has nearly 900 employees and an annual budget of $63 million.

The Huntsville Fire and Rescue^[71] provides fire protection for the city. On a daily basis the department staffs and coordinates nineteen engine companies, five ladder trucks, four rescue trucks, along with a Special Operations Division that includes Hazardous Materials Units, Technical Rescue Units, and several specialized support units. Huntsville Fire & Rescue also has Fire Investigations, emergency response dispatch, logistics, and training divisions, all of which are diverse, innovative and efficient. Many Huntsville firefighters are members of the regional Hazardous Materials and Heavy Rescue^[72] response teams. The day-to-day operations of the department are currently carried out by the department's Fire Chief.

Huntsville has two volunteer public safety organizations in their city. The Huntsville-Madison County Rescue Squad is the county wide volunteer rescue organization with tasks ranging from vehicle extrication to water rescues. The other is the Huntsville Cave Rescue Unit which is the region's only all-volunteer cave rescue organization. It is tasked with cave, cliff and high angle rope rescues. These organizations are located in Huntsville but operate both in the city and outside with HCRU responding to many cave rescue calls coming from caves well outside the city limits.

Huntsville Emergency Medical Services, Inc. (HEMSI)^[73] provides emergency medical services to Huntsville and surrounding Madison county. HEMSI operates up to 22 advanced life support crews from 12 stations with a fleet of 36 ambulances fully equipped with the latest technology. HEMSI is CAAS accredited and is an IAED accredited center of excellence.

The Huntsville Police Department^[74] has 3 precincts and 1 downtown HQ, 400 sworn officers, 150 civilian personnel, and patrols an area of 194.7+ square miles (this number has grown due to recent annexations).

The Huntsville Police Academy has been in operation since 1965.^[75] In 2014, the academy had graduated 53 basic classes and 7 lateral classes.^[76]

Huntsville's main economic influence is derived from aerospace and military technology. Redstone Arsenal, Cummings Research Park (CRP), and NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center comprise the main hubs for the area's technology-driven economy. CRP is the second largest research park in the United States and the fourth largest in the world. University of Alabama in Huntsville is a center for technology and engineering research in the area. There are commercial technology companies such as the network access company ADTRAN, computer graphics company Intergraph and designer and manufacturer of IT infrastructure Avocent. Cinram manufactures and distributes 20th Century Fox DVDs and Blu-ray Discs out of their Huntsville plant. Sanmina-SCI has a presence in the area. Fifty-seven Fortune 500 companies have operations in Huntsville.^[78]

In 2005, Forbes magazine named the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area as 6th best in the nation for doing business, and number one in terms of the number of engineers per total employment. In 2006, Huntsville dropped to 14th; the prevalence of engineers was not considered in the 2006 ranking.

There are several strip malls and shopping malls throughout the city. Huntsville has one enclosed mall, Parkway Place, built in 2002 on the site of the former Parkway City Mall. A larger mall built in 1984, Madison Square Mall, was closed in 2017 and the site is to be redeveloped into a lifestyle center. There is also a lifestyle center named Bridge Street Town Centre, completed in 2007, in Cummings Research Park.

Huntsville remains the center for rocket-propulsion research in NASA and the Army. The Marshall Space Flight Center has been designated to develop NASA's future Space Launch System (SLS),^[79] and the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command (AMCOM) is responsible for developing a variety of rocket-based tactical weapons.

Huntsville is served by several U.S. Highways, including 72, 231, 431 and an Interstate highway spur, I-565, that links Huntsville and Decatur to I-65. Alabama Highway 53 also connects the city with I-65 in Ardmore, Tennessee. Major roadways include University Drive, Governors Drive, Airport Road, Memorial Parkway and Research Park Blvd.

Cited as "Restore Our Roads", the city of Huntsville, between 2014 and 2019, will perform about $383 million worth of road construction to improve the transportation infrastructure.^[80] Some of the funds for the road work comes from an increase in sales tax,^[81] while others come from various sources including the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program.^[82] Major road projects include:

Additional road projects include reconstructing Holmes Avenue over Pinhook Creek, widening Zierdt, Martin and Winchester Roads, widening Old Madison Pike from Cummings Research Park to the city of Madison, relocating and widening Church Street north of Downtown, relocating Wynn Drive to allow an extension of the Calhoun Community College campus, various improvements along US 431 north of Hampton Cove, creating a new Downtown Gateway with the extension of Harvard Road from Governors Drive to Williams Avenue for a direct connection to Downtown, and extending Weatherly Road to the new Grissom High School.

In 2015, Alabama and Huntsville were not considered bicycle friendly.^[83] There are bike paths for exercise available.^[84] Huntsville government is working to improve bicycle network within the city limits.^[85]

Public transit in Huntsville is run by the city's Department of Parking and Public Transit.^[86] The Huntsville Shuttle runs 11 fixed routes throughout the city, mainly around downtown and major shopping areas like Memorial Parkway and University Drive and has recently expanded some of the buses to include bike racks on the front for a trial program. A trolley makes stops at tourist attractions and shopping centers. The city runs HandiRide, a demand-response transit system for the handicapped, and RideShare, a county-wide carpooling program.

Huntsville has two active commercial rail lines. The mainline is run by Norfolk Southern, which runs from Memphis to Chattanooga, Tennessee. The original depot for this rail line, the Huntsville Depot, still exists as a railroad museum, though it no longer offers passenger service.

Another rail line, formerly part of the Louisville and Nashville Railroad (L&N), successor to the Nashville, Chattanooga and St. Louis Railway (NC&StL), is being operated by the Huntsville and Madison County Railroad Authority (HMCRA). The line connects to the Norfolk Southern line downtown and runs 13 miles (21 km) south, passing near Ditto Landing on the Tennessee River, and terminating at Norton Switch, near Hobbs Island. This service, in continuous operation since 1894, presently hauls freight and provides transloading facilities at its downtown depot location. Until the mid-1950s, the L&N provided freight and passenger service to Guntersville and points South. The rail cars were loaded onto barges at Hobbs Island. The barge tows were taken upstream through the Guntersville Dam & Locks and discharged at Port Guntersville. Remnants of the track supporting piers still remain in the river just upstream from Hobbs Island. The service ran twice daily. L&N abandoned the line in 1984, at which time it was acquired by the newly created HMCRA, a state agency.

A third line, the Mercury and Chase Railroad, runs 10-mile (16 km) weekend tourist rides on part of another former NC&StL and L&N line from the North Alabama Railroad Museum's Chase Depot, located in the community of Chase, Alabama. Their collection includes one of the oldest diesel locomotives in existence (1926). The rail line originally connected Huntsville to NC&StL's Nashville-to-Chattanooga mainline in Decherd, Tennessee. The depot was once the smallest union station in the United States when it served the NC&StL and Memphis and Charleston Railroad, the predecessor to the Norfolk Southern.^[87]

The Huntsville International Airport is served by several regional and national carriers, including Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, Frontier Airlines, Silver Airways and American Airlines. Delivery companies have hubs in Huntsville, making flights to Europe, Asia, and Mexico.^[88] The airport has the highest average fares in US as of June 2014.^[89]

The inland Port of Huntsville combines the Huntsville International Airport, International Intermodal Center, and Jetplex Industrial Park for truck, train and air transport. The intermodal terminal transfers truck and train cargo to aircraft. The port has on-site U.S. Customs and USDA inspectors. The port is Foreign Trade Zone No. 83.

There are several bicycle routes in the city,^[90][91][92] but access to these routes can be limited.

Electricity, water, and natural gas are all provided in Huntsville by Huntsville Utilities (HU).^[93] HU purchases and resells power from the Tennessee Valley Authority. TVA has two plants that provide electricity to the Huntsville area- Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant in Limestone County and Guntersville Dam in Marshall County. A third, Bellefonte Nuclear Power Plant in Jackson County, was built in the 1980s but was never activated. TVA plans to eventually activate the plant.^[94]

Telephone service in Huntsville is provided by AT&T, EarthLink, WOW!, and Comcast. Comcast and WOW! are the two cable providers in the Huntsville city limits. Mediacom operates in rural outlying areas. AT&T announced the start of its DSL U-verse service in the Huntsville-Decatur metro area in November 2010.^[95]

The Huntsville Times has been Huntsville's only daily newspaper since 1996, when the Huntsville News closed. Before then, the News was the morning paper, and the Times was the afternoon paper until 2004. The Times has a weekday circulation of 60,000, which rises to 80,000 on Sundays. Both papers were owned by the Newhouse chain.^[96]

In May 2012, Advance Publications, owner of the Times, announced that the Times would become part of a new company called the Alabama Media Group,^[97] along with the other three newspapers and two websites owned by Advance. As part of the change, the newspapers moved to a three-day publication schedule, with print editions available only on Wednesday, Friday and Sunday. The Huntsville Times and its sister papers publish news and information 7 days a week on AL.com.^[98]

A few alternative newspapers are available in Huntsville. The Valley Planet^[99] covers arts and entertainment in the Tennessee Valley area. The Redstone Rocket^[100] is a newspaper distributed throughout Redstone Arsenal's housing area covering activities on Redstone. Speakin' Out News^[101] is a weekly newspaper focused on African Americans. El Reportero is a Spanish-language newspaper for North Alabama.

Huntsville Life Magazine is a lifestyle magazine, which is published six times annually.^[102]

No'Ala Huntsville is a lifestyle magazine, which is published six times annually.

Huntsville is the 106th largest radio market in the United States.^[103] Station KIH20 broadcasts the National Weather Service's forecasts and warnings for the Huntsville area.

The Huntsville DMA serves 15 counties in North Alabama and 6 counties in Southern Middle Tennessee.

A few feature films have been shot in Huntsville, including 20 Years After^[104] (2008, originally released as Like Moles, Like Rats),^[105] Air Band (2005),^[106] and Constellation (2005).^[107] Parts of the film SpaceCamp (1986) were shot at Huntsville's U.S. Space and Rocket Center at the eponymous facility. The U.S. Space and Rocket Center stood in for NASA in the 1989 movie Beyond the Stars. Columbia Pictures filmed Ravagers (1979) in The Land Trust's Historic Three Caves Quarry, at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, and at an antebellum home next door to Lee High School. The city was also referenced in Captain Marvel.

Huntsville's legacy in the space program continues to draw film producers looking for background material for space-themed films. During the pre-production of Apollo 13 (1995), the cast and crew spent time at Space Camp and Marshall Space Flight Center preparing for their roles. Space Camp was mentioned in the film Stranger than Fiction and was featured in a 2008 episode of Penn & Teller: B.S.! on NASA.

Huntsville has seven movie theaters:

Most K–12 students in Huntsville attend Huntsville City Schools.^[108] In the 2007–2008 school year 22,839 students attended Huntsville City Schools, 77% of all students scored at or above state and national ACT averages, and of the 1,279 members of the graduating class, "approximately 92% of the students indicated that they planned to enter a post-secondary institution for further study, 43% obtained scholarship & monetary awards", and "received 2,988 scholarships totaling $33,619,040, had forty-one National Merit Scholars, three National Achievement Scholars, and two perfect ACT scores."^[109]

Of the 53 schools in the Huntsville City Schools system in 2007–2008, there were:^[109]

For grades 6–12, there are 11,696 students enrolled in the following schools:

The two magnet elementary schools are the Academy for Academics and Arts and the Academy for Science and Foreign Language. The three magnet middle schools are Williams Technology, The Academy for Academics and Arts, and the Academy for Science and Foreign Language, and the two magnet high schools are Lee High School and New Century Technology High School.

Approximately 21 private, parochial, and religious schools serve grades pre-K–12. The city has several accredited private Christian schools, including Saint John Paul II Catholic High School,^[110] Faith Christian Academy,^[111] Oakwood Adventist Academy,^[112] Whitesburg Christian Academy, Grace Lutheran School, and Westminster Christian Academy. Randolph School is Huntsville's only independent, private K-12 school.^[113]

In 2007, 60% of HCS teachers had at least a master's degree.^[109]

The following was the disposition of annual funding in 2007: Instructional services – 54%, Instruction support services – 15%, Operation and maintenance – 11%, capital outlay – 8%, auxiliary services – 7%, general administrative services – 3%, and debt and other expenditures – 2%.^[109]

Huntsville's higher education institutions are:

The University of Alabama in Huntsville is the largest university serving the greater Huntsville area, with more than 7,700 students. About half of its graduates earn a degree in engineering or science, making it one of the larger producers of engineers and physical scientists in Alabama. The Carnegie Foundation ranks the school very highly as a research institution, placing it among the top 75 public research universities in the nation. UAHuntsville is also ranked a Tier 1 national university by U.S. News & World Report.

Alabama A&M University is the oldest university in the Huntsville area, dating to 1875. With over 6,000 students,^[114] it is home to the AAMU Historic District with 28 buildings and four structures listed in the United States National Register of Historic Places. Oakwood University, founded in 1896, is a Seventh-day Adventist university with over 1,800 students and a member institution of the United Negro College Fund. It is one of the nation's leading producers of black applicants to medical schools.

Various colleges and universities have satellite locations or extensions in Huntsville:

There are 57 parks within the city limits of Huntsville.^[136] In 2013, for the fifth time in seven years, Huntsville was named a 'Playful City USA' by KaBOOM! (non-profit organization) for their efforts to provide a variety of play opportunities for children that included after school programs and parks within walking distance of home.^[137]

The Huntsville-Madison County Public Library,^[162] founded in late October 1818, is Alabama's oldest continually operating library system. It has 13 branches throughout the county including one bookmobile. The Huntsville branches are the Bailey Cove Branch Library, Bessie K. Russell Branch Library, Downtown Huntsville Library, Eleanor E. Murphy Branch Library, Oscar Mason Branch Library, and Showers Center Library. The Downtown Huntsville Library Archives contains a wealth of historical resources, including displays of photographic collections and artifacts, has Alabama's highest materials circulation rate, and features daily public programs. The library system provides free public access Internet computers and wireless Internet access in all facilities.

Several arts groups have passed the 50-year mark: Huntsville Community Chorus Association;^[163] Huntsville Art League; Theatre Huntsville (through its parent company);^[164] Broadway Theatre League;^[165] Fantasy Playhouse Children's Theatre;^[164] Rocket City Chorus; Huntsville Symphony Orchestra;^[166] and Huntsville Photographic Society among them.

Founded in October 1962 as a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization, the Arts Huntsville ^[167] (TAC) includes over 100 local arts organizations and advocates. Arts Huntsville sponsors the arts through five core programs:

Arts Huntsville promotes the visual arts with two galleries: art@TAC, using the walls near the company's Von Braun Center^[170] offices and the JavaGalleria. TAC supports The Bench Project^[171] and the strategic planning effort to support Huntsville-Madison County's economic development goals through expanded arts and cultural opportunities known as Create Huntsville.^[172]

The Von Braun Center, which originally opened in 1975 as the Von Braun Civic Center, has an arena capable of seating 10,000, a 2,000-seat concert hall, a 500-seat playhouse (330 seats with proscenium staging), and 150,000 square feet (14,000 m2) of convention space. Both the arena and concert hall have undergone major renovations; as a result, they have been rechristened the Propst Arena and the Mark C. Smith Concert Hall, respectively.

Huntsville is home to a number of comedy shows, including:

Huntsville's sister cities include: