Decatur, Alabama

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Decatur
Nickname : The River City, D-rock, The Heart of the Valley
Decatur seen from the Tennessee River
Decatur seen from the Tennessee River
Location of Decatur, Alabama
Morgan County Alabama Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Decatur Highlighted.svg
Basic data
Foundation : 1821
State : United States
State : Alabama
Counties : Morgan County
Limestone County
Coordinates : 34 ° 35 ′  N , 86 ° 59 ′  W Coordinates: 34 ° 35 ′  N , 86 ° 59 ′  W
Time zone : Central ( UTC − 6 / −5 )
Inhabitants :
-  Metropolitan Area :		 55,683 (as of 2010)
152,256 (as of 2016)
Population density : 402.6 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 155.1 km 2  (approx. 60 mi 2 ) of
which 138.3 km 2  (approx. 53 mi 2 ) are land
Height : 171 m
Postcodes : 35600-35699
Area code : +1 256
FIPS : 01-20104
GNIS ID : 0117185
Website : decaturalabamausa.com
Mayor : Don Kyle

Decatur is a city in Morgan County in the US state of Alabama , USA , with 55,683 inhabitants (as of 2010) and the seat of the county administration. The city area is 155.1 km². The closest interstate connection is Interstate 65 . Decatur is on the Tennessee River .

history

The origin of the city was the western landing point of a ferry over the Tennessee River that was operated from the 1810s and was named Rhodes Ferry Landing after its owner . In June 1820 the settlement was given its current name in honor of the naval officer Stephen Decatur , which is also the date the city was founded. In December 1826 she was raised to the rank of town .

In 1836, Decatur became the eastern terminus of the Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur Railroad , the first railway line west of the Appalachians . As a hub between rail and shipping, the city initially developed well. In the course of the American Civil War (1861-1865) Decatur was captured by troops of the northern states and almost completely destroyed: only three buildings remained, the others were dismantled and used to build soldiers' quarters and other functional military buildings. At the end of October 1864 there was the Battle of Decatur , in which troops of the Northern States led by Robert S. Granger succeeded in preventing units of the Army of the Southern States under John Bell Hood from crossing the river . The reconstruction after the war initially proceeded rapidly, but was temporarily interrupted by two yellow fever epidemics in 1877 and 1888.

From 1887 a new, independent settlement was built immediately southeast of Decatur, which was named New Decatur . Due to longstanding animosity between the two cities, it was renamed Albany in 1912 . In the course of the joint financing of the construction of the Keller Memorial Bridge, which spans the Tennessee River, negotiations came about to merge the two communities, which, after some difficulties, was carried out in 1927.

In 1891 the seat of Morgan County was moved from Somerville to Decatur. At the beginning of the 19th century, Decatur was one of the most important cities in Alabama with around 8,000 inhabitants. In 1919 the Princess Theater was built from a converted horse stable . The first traffic light was installed in the city in 1929.

In 2008 an old people's home (location) caused quite a stir because the floor plan resembles a swastika.

Cotaco Opera House (2010)

Eleven structures and sites in Decatur are listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) (as of March 12, 2020), including the Cotaco Opera House .

sons and daughters of the town

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Rhodes Ferry Park on the Decatur Park Administration website, accessed May 10, 2017. (English)
  2. ↑ Texts of Laws 91-102 on the Alabama State website, accessed May 10, 2017. (English)
  3. ^ Robert Glaze: Entry Battle of Decatur in the Encyclopedia of Alabama. August 21, 2014, accessed May 10, 2017. (English)
  4. ↑ Donna J. Siebenthaler: Entry Morgan County in the Encyclopedia of Alabama , October 10, 2016, accessed May 10, 2017. (English)
  5. ↑ Politically incorrect retirement home
  6. ↑ Swastika-shaped Alabama care home to get makeover after complaints about Nazi symbol
  7. ↑ A swastika- shaped retirement home is to be converted
  8. ↑ Search mask database in the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed March 12, 2020.
    Weekly List on the National Register Information System. National Park Service , accessed March 12, 2020.