Decatur Alabama

Decatur, Alabama is a city in Morgan County, Alabama, with a small portion in southern Limestone County. Decatur is the core city of the Decatur Metropolitan Area, and the second largest(core) city in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. Decatur sits on the southern bank of the Tennessee River. Decatur currently has an estimated population of 54,528.

Decatur is served by the Huntsville International Airport (a part of the Port of Huntsville), as well as Pryor Field Regional Airport.

History

Initially the area was known as Rhodes Ferry, named after a ferry that crossed the Tennessee River in the 1810s, and was incorporated as Albany in the year 1821.

Decatur was a very important point in North Alabama during its earliest days. Official municipal site includes information about city services, departments,
meetings, events, and the community. Decatur was the Eastern Terminous of the Decatur-Courtland-Tuscumbia Railroad, the first railway built west of the Appalachian Mountains.

The city is named after naval hero Stephen Decatur, Jr. New Decatur was a city founded just north of Decatur in 1887 and incorporated in 1889.

Because of its location on the strategic Memphis & Charleston Railroad, Decatur was the site of several encounters during the American Civil War. All but three buildings were burned down during the 1864 Battle of Decatur, when Decatur was referred to as A Tough Nut To Crack. The three that remained are the Old State Bank, Dancy-Polk House, and the McEntire House.