Tuscaloosa Alabama

Tuscaloosa is a city in west central Alabama in the southern United States. On the Black Warrior River, it is the seat of Tuscaloosa CountyGR6 and the fifth-largest city in Alabama with a population of 79,294 (2003 U. S. Census Bureau Estimate). Tuscaloosa is named after the Choctaw chieftain Tuskalusa (which means Black Warrior in that language), who battled and was defeated by Hernando de Soto in 1540 in the Battle of Mauvila.

Best known as the home of the University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa is also the center of industry, commerce, healthcare, and education for the region commonly known as West Alabama. Tuscaloosa is a city in west central Alabama in the southern United States. Tuscaloosa attracted international attention when what is now DaimlerChrysler announced it would build its first Mercedes-Benz automotive assembly plant in North America in Tuscaloosa. Nevertheless, the University remains the dominant economic and cultural engine in the city.

History

The area at the fall line of what would be later known as the Black Warrior River had long been well known to the various Indian tribes whose shifting fortunes brought them to West Alabama. The river shoals at Tuscaloosa represented the southernmost site on the river which could be forded under most conditions. Inevitably, a network of Indian trails converged upon the place, the same network which, in the first years of the 19th Century began to lead a few intrepid white frontiersmen to the area.