Madison County, Alabama
| Madison County, Alabama | |
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Madison County Courthouse in Huntsville
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 Location in the U.S. state of Alabama |
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 Alabama's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | December 13, 1808 |
| Named for | James Madison |
| Seat | Huntsville |
| Largest city | Huntsville |
| Area | |
| • Total | 813 sq mi (2,106 km2) |
| • Land | 802 sq mi (2,077 km2) |
| • Water | 11 sq mi (28 km2), 1.4% |
| Population (est.) | |
| • (2015) | 353,089 |
| • Density | 437/sq mi (169/km²) |
| Congressional district | 5th |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website | www |
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Footnotes:
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Footnotes:
Madison County is a county of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2010 Census, the population was 334,811, making it the third-most populous county in Alabama. Its county seat is Huntsville. The county is named in honor of James Madison, fourth President of the United States of America and the first President to visit the state of Alabama. Madison County covers parts of the former Decatur County.
Madison County is included in the Huntsville, AL Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Madison County was established on December 13, 1808 by the governor of the Mississippi Territory. It is recognized as the "birthplace" of Alabama, which was founded there on December 14, 1819. For much of the county's history, the economy revolved mainly around agriculture. Madison County was one of the largest cotton-producing counties in the state, and textile mills operated around the county.
This changed when a group of former Nazi German rocket scientists, led by Wernher von Braun, came to Redstone Arsenal in 1950. They developed, among others, the Redstone rocket, which was modified to launch the first two Americans into space. Tens of thousands of jobs came to the area as a result of the Space Race, and the population of Madison County rose from 72,903 in 1950 to an estimated 2015 population of 353,089.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 813 square miles (2,110 km2), of which 802 square miles (2,080 km2) is land and 11 square miles (28 km2) (1.4%) is water.
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