Tuscumbia, Alabama
| Tuscumbia, Alabama | |
|---|---|
| City | |
Colbert County Courthouse in Tuscumbia
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| Nickname(s): "Charm of the Shoals" "Tusbompton" | |
 Location in Colbert County and the state of Alabama |
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| Coordinates: 34°43′51″N 87°42′10″W / 34.73083°N 87.70278°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Alabama |
| County | Colbert |
| Settled | 1815 |
| Incorporated (town) | December 20, 1820 |
| Named for | Chickasaw Indian chief |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor/Council |
| • Mayor | Bill Shoemaker |
| Area | |
| • Total | 8.8 sq mi (22.8 km2) |
| • Land | 8.8 sq mi (22.7 km2) |
| • Water | 0.04 sq mi (0.1 km2) |
| Elevation | 466 ft (142 m) |
| Population (2010) | |
| • Total | 8,423 |
| • Density | 963/sq mi (371.9/km2) |
| Time zone | Central (CST) (UTC-6) |
| • Summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) |
| ZIP code | 35674 |
| Area code(s) | 256, 938 |
| FIPS code | 01-77280 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0153743 |
| Website | www |
Tuscumbia is a city in and the county seat of Colbert County, Alabama, United States. As of the 2010 census, the population was 8,423. The city is part of The Shoals metropolitan area.
Tuscumbia was the hometown of Helen Keller (The little house). It is the location of the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.
Tuscumbia had its beginnings when the Michael Dixon family arrived about 1816. They traded with Chief Tucumseh for the Tuscumbia Valley and built their home at the head of the big spring. From these humble dwellings quickly developed a village known as the Big Spring Community. The men of the community requested that the state legislature incorporate them as a city. The town was incorporated in 1820 as Ococoposa and is one of Alabama's oldest towns. In 1821, its name was changed to Big Spring and on December 22, 1822, to Tuscumbia, after the Chief Rainmaker of the Chickasaws.
Although shoals on the nearby Tennessee River made the river nearly impassable, a federal highway completed in 1820 provided the area with good access to markets. Tuscumbia soon became the center for agriculture in northern Alabama. A line to the town on the Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur Railroad was completed in 1832, and by 1850 Tuscumbia was a major railroad hub for train traffic throughout the South.
Tuscumbia became the county seat for Colbert County in 1867.
During the Civil War, the railroad hub made Tuscumbia a target of the Union Army, which destroyed the railroad shops and other parts of the town.
In April 1894, three African-Americans suspected of planning arson were removed from the Tuscumbia jail by a mob of 200 men who hung them from the bridge over the Tennessee River.
Tuscumbia is located northeast of the center of Colbert County at 34°43′51″N 87°42′10″W / 34.73083°N 87.70278°W (34.730839, -87.702854). It is bordered to the north by the city of Sheffield and to the northeast by the city of Muscle Shoals. The Tennessee River is 1 mile (1.6 km) to the northwest.
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Wikipedia