938 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. Cullman is the largest city and county seat of Cullman County, Alabama, located along Interstate 65 approximately 50 miles north of Birmingham and 55 miles south of Huntsville, with a 2020 census population of 18,213. Founded in 1873 by German immigrant Colonel John G. Cullmann, a Bavarian democrat who fled Europe after the failed Revolutions of 1848-49, the city developed at the junction of two 1820s-1830s toll roads (Stout's Road and the Brindley Turnpike) that connected the Tennessee Valley to Birmingham. The region has deep historical roots, having been traversed by the Cherokee Nation's Black Warrior's Path and serving as the site of the Civil War's Battle of Day's Gap on April 30, 1863, where Union Colonel Abel Streight defeated Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest. The area was originally Cherokee territory before American settlement and the subsequent Indian removal along the Trail of Tears. 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.