Hearing of the abundant water source and plentiful big game, John Hunt, Huntsville's founder, sought out the spring and settled near it in 1805 on the bluff above, which later became the site of the First National Bank of Huntsville. Below is a description of the settlement and some of the early settlers. read more
EARLY SETTLERS IN HUNTSVILLE BY JUDGE THOMAS JONES TAYLOR transcribed from The Alabama Historical Quarterly Vol I, N. 3, Fall Issue 1930. Before the land sales Huntsville was a straggling village of squatters, living on government land and in the rude log cabins. read more
Madison and Limestone counties occupy the middle portion of this territory, extending from the river to the State line. The early settlers of North Alabama were men who had fought the Indians in Western Georgia and Middle Tennessee, and were inured to the danger, privation, and suffering of pioneer life. read more