Decatur, Alabama Decatur City of Decatur Nickname(s): The River City, Chicago of the South, The Heart of the Valley Location in Morgan County and the state of Alabama Location in Morgan County and the state of Alabama Decatur is positioned in Alabama Decatur - Decatur Location in Alabama in the United States Decatur is a town/city in Morgan and Limestone counties in the State of Alabama.
The city, affectionately known as "The River City", is positioned in Northern Alabama on the banks of Wheeler Lake, along the Tennessee River.
It is the biggest city and governmental center of county of Morgan County. The populace in 2010 census was 55,683. Decatur is also the core town/city of the two-county large Decatur, Alabama Metropolitan Area which had an estimated populace of 153,374 in 2013.
Combined with the Huntsville Metropolitan Area, the two problematic the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area, of which Decatur is the second biggest city.
Like many southern metros/cities in the early 19th century, Decatur's early success was based upon its locale along a river.
Railroad routes and boating traffic pushed the town/city to the front of North Alabama's economic atmosphere.
The town/city rapidly interval into a large economic center inside the Tennessee Valley and was a core for travelers and cargo between Nashville and Mobile, as well as Chattanooga and New Orleans.
Throughout the 20th century, the town/city experienced steady growth, but was eclipsed as the county-wide economic center by the fast-growing Huntsville amid the space race.
The town/city was incorporated as Decatur in 1821.
It was titled in honor of Stephen Decatur; after he was killed in a duel in 1820, President Monroe directed that the Alabama town be titled for him. In the early 1830s, Decatur was the easterly end of the Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur Railroad, the first stockyards assembled west of the Appalachian Mountains.
In 1850 the Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur Railroad was incorporated into the Memphis & Charleston Railroad.
Because of its locale on the Tennessee River at the strategically meaningful crossing of two primary barns s, Decatur was the site of a several encounters amid the American Civil War.
John Bell Hood briefly sparred with a vastly outmanned garrison amid the 1864 Battle of Decatur, when Decatur was referred to as A Tough Nut To Crack.
These activities make the home one of the most historic buildings in Decatur.
New Decatur, Alabama was a town/city that rose out of the ashes of former Decatur west of the barns tracks.
New Decatur was established in 1887 and incorporated in 1889.
However, inhabitants of the older Decatur resented the new town, established and occupied by citizens who moved down from northern states.
Animosity assembled until New Decatur retitled their town Albany, after Albany, N.Y., in September 1916.
The Decatur Kiwanis Club was formed with an equal number of members from each town to organize accomplishments to get the state to build the bridge.
In 1925, the two metros/cities consolidated to form one City of Decatur.
Eastern portions of Decatur tend to act more suburban and traditional, while portions tend to look more urbane and contemporary.
The Old State Bank, on the edge of downtown, is the earliest bank building in the State of Alabama, being 173 years old.
The first wave pool in the United States was assembled in Decatur and is still in operation at the Point Mallard Aquatic Center.
The town/city has the biggest Victorian era home precinct in the state of Alabama.
Decatur is also home to Alabama's earliest opera home, the Cotaco Opera House, which still stands on Johnston Street.
Remarks from FDR 1933 Decatur visit Rhodes Ferry incorporated as Decatur in 1821 Also in 1829-1830, Decatur became the home to the first barns ever assembled west of the Appalachian Mountains Tuscumbia, Courtland and Decatur Railroad Battle of Decatur takes place amid the American Civil War on October 26 29, 1864 Decatur's Victorian Era Home District assembled between 1870 and 1910 New Decatur established in 1887, incorporated in 1889 The Morgan County seat moved from Somerville to Decatur New Decatur renames itself Albany (although the postal service designation is New Albany), 1916 Albany and Old Decatur merge in 1925 TVA brings new company to Decatur through the military, and energy management in the 1930s The Tennessee River has traditionally been the northern border of the town/city and Morgan County, while Flint Creek and the Wheeler Wildlife Refuge on the east side of the city.
There is also a small portion of Decatur that extends into Limestone County north along the Highway 31 corridor to the Calhoun College region and along Hwy 20 Corridor until it reaches I-65.
The northern portion of Decatur sits on top of a short hill that overlooks the Tennessee River, this creates a very steep dropoff to the river shore at Rhodes Ferry Park.
This hill allows the "Steamboat Bill" Memorial Bridge to leave the mainland at undertaking without any primary sloping required more height to cross the river while not interfering with Decatur's heavy barge traffic.
South, and also west, past Alabama 67 there are a several minor mountain peaks that sit inside the town/city limits.
Decatur is positioned at 34 34 52 N 86 59 0 W (34.580992, 86.983392). Decatur has a humid subtropical climate (Koppen Cfa) with four distinct seasons.
In 2011, Decatur received up to 8 inches (20 cm) of snow in a single storm.
Climate data for Decatur, Alabama Decatur is divided into four different regions of town (Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, Southwest).
Southeast and Northeast Decatur lie East of the CSX Railroad's mainline.
Northwest is bordered by Moulton Street, the CSX Railroad from Moulton Street to Lee Street and then by Bank Street from Lee Street to the Tennessee River.
Albany (New Decatur) Downtown Decatur Old Decatur West Decatur (the portion north of Moulton Street) West Decatur (the portion south of Moulton Street) The current mayor of Decatur is Tab Bowling, who was propel in 2016 The town/city has a five-member/district City Council.
Past Decatur, AL Mayors include: 2012 City Elections: On October 9, former Decatur Mayor Don Kyle defeated opponent Carl Cole with a 56% margin to win his second term as Mayor.
Mayor District 1 District 2 District 3 District 4 District 5 The Public Safety Department consists of the Decatur Police Department and Decatur Fire & Rescue.
The Public Safety annex is positioned at 4119 Old Highway 31 in the Flint Community at the south end of the town/city and homes the Fire Department's administrative offices.
Both the Decatur Police and Decatur Fire & Rescue are dispatched by the Morgan County E-911 Center.
The Decatur Police Department consists of approx.
Decatur Fire & Rescue is an Advanced Life Support, full service department consisting of approx.
Decatur is served by First Response EMS, which began operations in July 2012.
First Response is a private business contracted through the town/city of Decatur to furnish emergency medical services.
Huntsville Med - Flight, a division of Air Methods, and Air Evac Lifeteam furnish aeromedical services for the town/city of Decatur and North Alabama.
Decatur is served by two hospitals, Decatur General Hospital and Parkway Medical Center.
Decatur General Hospital is a 273-bed, general acute care hospital and a 64-bed behavioral medicine hospital making it the third biggest employer in Morgan County.
Decatur General is accredited by the Joint Commission and its medical staff consists of more than 200 physicians representing 20 specialties.
Decatur General Hospital is designated as a level two trauma center by the Alabama Department of Public Health.
Parkway Medical Center is a 120-bed hospital that is designated as a level three trauma center by the Alabama Department of Public Health.
Huntsville Hospital is the region's referral center and also serves as North Alabama's level one trauma center.
As of November 2010, Decatur General Hospital and Huntsville Hospital are partner hospitals, ensuring the continued tradition and excellence of public, not-for-profit community care in North Alabama.
In the city, the populace was spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 8.8% from 18 to 24, 29.6% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 13.1% who were 65 years of age or older.
In the city, the populace was spread out with 24.1% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 26.1% from 25 to 44, 26.3% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older.
Decatur has grown to be the busiest river port on the Tennessee River.
The Port of Decatur sees large amounts of barge traffic from up and down the Tennessee River, which has led to twenty Fortune 500 companies opening plants in the city.
Decatur is also known as the "Home of Meow Mix", after the business bought a 200,000-square-foot (19,000 m2) facility in town, and now utilizes its riverfront property to ship the rather than product up and down the Tennessee River.
Approval of the United Launch Alliance combined Lockheed-Martin and Boeing's rocket manufacturing contracts to a central locale at the plant in Decatur.
Government will be assembled in Decatur.
This approval brought over 230 new jobs to the Decatur area.
A school, fire department, parks and lakes were expected to support the future development. As of Spring 2010, this universal still seems to be on the horizon, but there is no set date for the universal to start. As of 2012, Bass Pro Shop has removed Decatur from its list of stores "Coming Soon" on its webpage.
According to Decatur's 2011 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report, the top employers in the town/city are: 2 Decatur City Schools 1,205 3 Decatur General Hospital 1,000 8 City of Decatur 680 Tourism is a primary part of Decatur's economy.
Because of the Alabama Jubilee, Decatur has been titled "The Ballooning Capital of Alabama" by the Alabama State Legislature.
More than 65,000 citizens arrive in Decatur to watch annual celebrations and the Miss Spirit of America beauty pageant.
Another large event in Decatur and North Alabama, the Racking Horse World Celebration attracts horses from around the world to compete in the biggest Racking Horse competition.
See also: Decatur Parks and Recreation Decatur City Cemetery The Decatur Daily has been the only primary journal based in the Decatur Metropolitan Area since 1912, and one of the several family owned newspapers in Alabama.
The paper circulates in the morning to an region that includes Morgan County, Lawrence County, and Limestone County, and parts of Cullman County, and Winston County The Huntsville Times is the only other journal with a larger circulation in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area, and has been in circulation since 1996 to most region counties, when the Huntsville News closed.
Charter Communications, AT&T and Knology offer cable TV to Decatur.
AT&T, Charter and Knology offer phone service to Decatur.
Decatur comes inside 3 miles (5 km) of Athens and touches Huntsville.
Decatur is served by two primary airports.
The town/city is also served by the busiest county-wide airport in Alabama, the Pryor Field Regional Airport. Decatur, being only a mid-sized city, has not yet seen the damaging effects of a primary controlled access highway passing through the town/city limits.
Decatur's chief thoroughfares are 6th Avenue (US 31) and The Beltline (State Route 67).
After that intersection, 6th Avenue continues southward to Birmingham as Decatur Highway.
Governor Bob Riley has said he will make sure that plans for the road will be put on the fast track, since more than 85 vehicle accidents occur on Highway 20's final approach into Decatur each year. Large shipments can move from Decatur to the Atlantic Ocean via the Tennessee River to the Mississippi River and the Gulf of Mexico.
The United States builds some of its space launch vehicles in Decatur (United Launch Alliance vehicles only), and ships them to both Cape Canaveral and Vandenberg Air Force Base via this water route.
Decatur has 2 barns s, the Norfolk Southern Railway, and CSX Transportation CSX chief line, the S&NA North Subdivision (Nashville, Tennessee to Birmingham, Alabama).
Amtrak formerly directed the Floridian (train) that stopped in Decatur.
See also: Decatur City Schools Austin High and Decatur High are the two chief high schools of the city.
With the addition of the International Baccalaureate Program to Austin and Decatur High Schools, Decatur has turn into the first Alabama school fitness north of Birmingham and one of five in the state to offer the honors program for juniors and seniors (as of July 2006).
However, both Austin and Decatur floundered to make adequate annual progress in 2006 as mandated in the No Child Left Behind Act.
Decatur High missed in two categories: percent of special education students the fitness tested in reading and percent tested in math.
The only institution of college studies located inside the Decatur town/city limits is Calhoun Community College.
Decatur High School Decatur Heritage Christian Academy (Pre-K through 12th Grade) (SACS & ACSI) North Alabama School of Fine Arts - Decatur Calhoun Main Campus - Decatur Dukes, Alabama politician and mayor of Decatur from 1976 to 1994 Gordon, founder of Decatur Land Improvement and Furnace Company Wikimedia Commons has media related to Decatur, Alabama.
"AN ACT to incorporate the town of Decatur, in Morgan county." "Annual Estimates of the Population for Incorporated Places in Alabama, Listed Alphabetically: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2013".
D "Station Name: AL DECATUR PRYOR FLD".
"Monthly Averages for Decatur, AL".
Decatur Daily Newspaper.
"Bass Pro, meeting hall prepared for primary Decatur development".
"Decatur Mayor: Sweetwater Deal Still Good".
"Why Have So Many Cities and Towns Given Away So Much Money to Bass Pro Shops and Cabela's?".
City of Decatur CAFR The Decatur Daily.
Decatur, AL.
Decatur Daily Newspaper.
Decatur Daily Newspaper.
Official City Website: Decatur, Alabama, USA Official City Tourist Website: Decatur, Alabama, USA Decatur's Historic Albany Neighborhood Decatur Police Department Decatur Fire and Rescue Decatur Convention & Visitor's Bureau Decatur Morgan County Chamber of Commerce Decatur City Schools Decatur Sports Decatur Parks and Recreation Institute of Southern Jewish Life, History of Decatur Municipalities and communities of Limestone County, Alabama, United States Municipalities and communities of Morgan County, Alabama, United States Decatur, Alabama - Cities in Morgan County, Alabama - Cities in Limestone County, Alabama - Cities in Alabama - Decatur Metropolitan Area - Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville, AL Combined Travel Destination - County seats in Alabama - Inland port metros/cities and suburbs of the United States - Populated places established in 1821 - Populated places on the Tennessee River
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