The Huntsville Historical Review

The Society also publishes bi-annually The Huntsville Historical Review. This journal contains articles written by enthusiastic local researchers and writers about the eventful history of Madison County. An index is also available. To see digitized copies, please visit the Huntsville History Collection.

Quarterly Newsletters

Winter 2021
Fall 2021
Summer 2021
Spring 2021
Winter 2020
Fall 2020
Summer 2020
Spring 2020
Winter 2019
Fall 2019
Summer 2019
Spring 2019
Winter 2018
Fall 2018
Summer 2018
Spring 2018
Winter 2017
Fall 2017
Summer 2017
Spring 2017
Winter 2016
Fall 2016
Summer 2016
Spring 2016
Winter 2015
Fall 2015
Summer 2015
Spring 2015
Winter 2014
Fall 2014
Summer 2014
Spring 2014
Winter 2013

Recent Publications

Why Is It Named That? (Bicentennial Edition) by Dex Nilsson. This updated version of the first edition provides over 300 stories behind the names that have been given to places in Huntsville and Madison County. These are the names we use every day, but often have no idea why they were named that.

For fifty years, the Huntsville Historical Review has chronicled the origins and history of Madison County. As part of Alabama’s Bicentennial the Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society has assembled a collection of articles from past issues of the Review, spanning Huntsville’s first sixty years. The collection, which was assembled by Jacque Reeves and Arley McCormick, is presented in three volumes:

Volume I – Madison County 1805-1819, From Territory to Statehood – Covers the arrival of John Hunt in 1805, through the formation of the Alabama Territory in 1817 and the drafting of the state constitution for the State of Alabama in 1819, when Huntsville served as its first capital.

Volume II - Madison County 1820-1860, Alabama’s First City Grows - Covers the years between Alabama Statehood and the Civil War. It tells the stories of the people and the events that transformed Huntsville into a city that became a target of interest to Union forces.

Volume III – Madison County 1860-1865, The War Years – This volume tells the story of Huntsville’s occupation by Union forces during the Civil War.

The Wondrous McCrarys -- Alabama Pioneers: Same Family, Same Farm, 200 Years written by Joseph M. Jones. The story of the Thomas McCrary family/farm, Alabama's oldest, in continuous operation by the same family since 1809. Available at Amazon for $9.95. Also available at Harrison Brothers Hardware and Two Friends Giftshop.

Huntsville Air and Space by T. Gary Wicks. Arcadia Publishing, 2010. Includes the history of Marshall Space Flight Center and the Saturn moon rocket development. Features the beginning of Redstone Arsenal and the transfer of the von Braun missile team to Huntsville. Explores the two earlier Huntsville airport locations, Whitesburg Drive and South Parkway. Shows some of the early pioneers in Huntsville’s aviation and space history, including Will Quick’s design and construction of a 1908 Flying Machine.

American Civil War Sesquicentennial Walking Tour Brochure -- The Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society and the Tennesee Valley Civil War Round Table are jointly selling a self-guided walking tour brochure of Historic Huntsville during the Federal Occupation (1862-1865). This brochure features a newly rendered map (20" x 27") of Huntsville during 1861 which identifies 38 locations and describes their significances during this time.

The Huntsville-Madison County Historical Society has recently published four books on local history.

Historical Markers of Madison County, Alabama, edited by Alex Lutrell, was printed in 2001 in celebration of the Society’s 50th Anniversary. There is a brief overview of Huntsville and Madison County, a sketch of each marker, front and back and photographs to accompany the current surroundings of each marker. 174 pages with a map and an index.

To commemorate the founding of Madison County in 1808, the Society published The Huntsville Historical Review, A History of Early Settlement: Madison County before Statehood, 1808-1819. After the Introduction, there are seven articles about specific early communities of the county. This is followed by an Epilogue. 161 pages with appendix, index and illustrations.

Maple Hill Cemetery, Phase One, researched and written by Diane Robey, Dorothy Scott Johnson, Dr. John Rison Jones, Jr. and Dr. Frances Cabaniss Roberts, is a detailed inventory of the oldest section of Huntsville’s largest cemetery, row by row, with annotations. Published in 1995 contains a brief history of the cemetery, a map of the section in detail. 167 pages.

Incidents of the War: The Civil War Journal of Mary Jane Chadick, edited and annotated by Nancy M. Rohr, was published in 2005. This is a daily account written during the occupation by Federal troops of Huntsville, Alabama. 379 pages, fold-out map of north Alabama, photographs and illustrations.

These books are available at the following locations:

HARRISON BROTHERS HARDWARE
124 South Side Square
Huntsville, AL 35801
(256) 536-3631
(866) 533-3631
http://www.harrisonbrothershardware.com/