Editing Albertville, Alabama (section)

==History==
The area which today includes Albertville was inhabited by the [[Native Americans in the United States|indigenous]] [[Cherokee]], until their [[Cherokee removal|removal to Oklahoma in the 1830s]]. It was near the territory of the [[Muscogee|Creek nation]], and several major trails which afforded communication (or military action) between the two nations crossed the area. It is believed to have been crossed by Spanish explorer [[Hernando de Soto]] during his expeditions in 1540.<ref name="Marshall">{{cite web|url=http://www.marshallco.org/history.php |title=History |publisher=www.marshallco.org |access-date=August 10, 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101220203756/http://marshallco.org/history.php |archive-date=December 20, 2010}}</ref>

During the [[American Civil War]], the area around Albertville was the scene of several mid-level clashes between Union and Confederate forces.<ref name="Marshall"/>

The first non-indigenous settlement in what is today Albertville began in the 1850s. It was named for Thomas A. Albert, an early settler who moved from [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] and was a town leader until his death in 1876. The city was incorporated in 1891.<ref name="ala-act-establishment"/><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h2251.html |title=Albertville, Alabama |publisher=www.u-s-history.com |access-date=August 10, 2010}}</ref> A post office was established in 1910.<ref>Foscue, Virginia. ''Place Names in Alabama''. University: University of Alabama Press, 1989.</ref>

[[File:Albertville Cyclone2.jpg|thumb|Tornado damage from the Great Cyclone of 1908]]

At about 4:10 p.m. on [[1908 Dixie tornado outbreak|April 24, 1908]], the city was virtually wiped out by a [[tornado]] that became commonly called "The Great Cyclone", or "The Cyclone of 1908".<ref name="Burgess">{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bjz_fSyg1FUC&dq=Albertville+1908+cyclone&pg=PT1|title=Albertville|first=Dennis|last=Burgess|date=August 22, 2004|publisher=Arcadia Publishing|isbn=9780738516646|via=Google Books}}</ref> The storm is believed to have killed 35 people across northeastern Alabama, including 15 in Albertville.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.islandnet.com/~see/weather/almanac/arc2008/alm08apr.htm |work=The Weather Doctor Almanac 2008|title= Deadly Tornadoes of April 1908 |publisher=www.islandnet.com |access-date=August 10, 2010}}</ref> Relief was largely delivered by railroad, particularly from the nearby city of [[Gadsden, Alabama|Gadsden]]. Trains from Gadsden transported doctors, nurses, and the Queen City Guards, the Alabama militia company based in Gadsden. The commander of the latter, future Gadsden mayor and Col. R.A. Mitchell, reported in a dispatch to Governor [[B.B. Comer]]:

<blockquote> ... The destruction of property here is, I think, unprecedented in the history of the state. I have never seen anything like it, so complete and absolute as to leave little of worth in the path of the storm through town. On viewing the wreckage, covering easily forty acres or more in the heart of town, it appears incredible that any living being could have escaped the fury of the storm and death ...<ref>"1908: After the Storm," ''The Gadsden Times'', April 20, 2008, p. C1</ref></blockquote>

In 1893, the Alabama Legislature passed an act for the erection of an agricultural college in each of the state's congressional districts. After some competition, Albertville was awarded the school for the Seventh District. This is the school that evolved into today's Albertville High School, whose sports teams are still known as the "Aggies".<ref name="Burgess"/>

In 1910, Albertville had a population of 1,544,<ref>''Farm Journal Complete Atlas of the World'' 1910 Edition</ref> becoming the largest community in Marshall County.

Before the [[New Deal]], when the [[Tennessee Valley Authority]] built [[Guntersville Dam]], flooding on the Tennessee River would frequently leave the county courthouse in [[Guntersville, Alabama|Guntersville]] inaccessible for residents of Albertville and other areas atop [[Sand Mountain (Alabama)|Sand Mountain]]. In 1919, the Alabama Legislature responded by requiring the erection of a courthouse at Albertville, in which cases arising in that part of the county would be heard.<ref>Alabama Local Acts 1919, no. 23, p. 14</ref>

In 1950, Albertville had a population of 5,397,<ref>''Encyclopædia Britannica World Atlas'', 1959 Edition, p. 299</ref> and reclaimed the title (from Guntersville) of the largest city in the county, and has held the distinction ever since.

On June 1, 2009, the city council voted to establish [[English language|English]] as the town's official language. Albertville’s Hispanic demographic pluraity strongly protested this decision in a series of demonstrations near the mayor’s office.<ref>{{cite news|title=Albertville adopts English as official language |first=Niki |last=Doyle |newspaper=The Huntsville Times |date=June 2, 2009 |location=Huntsville, AL |access-date=August 10, 2010 |url=http://blog.al.com/breaking/2009/06/albertville_adopts_english_as.html}}</ref>

On [[Tornado outbreak of April 22–25, 2010|April 24, 2010]], an [[Enhanced Fujita Scale|EF-3]] tornado ripped through downtown Albertville. The storm resulted in no deaths. The high school was severely damaged, nearly every home had some type of damage, and many were destroyed beyond repair.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.waff.com/Global/story.asp?S=12370970 |title=Tornado causes major damage to Albertville and Geraldine |publisher=www.waff.com |date=May 25, 2010 |access-date=August 10, 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100527032540/http://www.waff.com/Global/story.asp?S=12370970 |archive-date=May 27, 2010 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref>