Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)
McThornmor Acres Historic District
Established February 9, 2022
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, July 20, 2025
1. McThornmor Acres Historic District Marker
McThornmor Acres was incorporated on April 7, 1956, by Vance J. Thornton, S.O. McDonald, James D. Thornton. Carl A. Morring Jr., and Allen M. Northington. "McThornmor Acres" is a unique blending of the surnames of these men. Platted in 1956 and completed in 1969, McThornmor Acres is the largest subdivision in an area located west of Huntsville that was annexed into the city in 1955. The neighborhood was also the first area developed following that annexation. The planning and development of McThornmor Acres typified the post-World War II expansion of Huntsville that was brought on by the development of the aerospace industry in Huntsville, including the Ordnance Rocket Center at Redstone Arsenal. Constructed in response to a rapidly growing demand for housing, it is an excellent local example of a mid-1950s residential subdivision. Most of the earliest residents of the neighborhood were professionals associated with Huntsville's burgeoning space and missile programs and were employed by the arsenal, other government facilities, or related private companies nearby. McThornmor Acres Historic District was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2022.
Erected 2023 by The City of Huntsville and Alabama Historical Association.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic
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Location. 34° 43.66′ N, 86° 37.8′ W. Marker is in Huntsville, Alabama, in Madison County. It is at the intersection of Woodall Lane Northwest and Holmes Ave. NW, on the left when traveling north on Woodall Lane Northwest. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 803 Woodall Ln NW, Huntsville AL 35816, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in North Alabama. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, in Appalachia, and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once the original Cherokee Nation, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 2 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: McThronmor Acres Historic District (here, next to this marker); Superconductivity Discovery (approx. 0.7 miles away); S.R. Butler High School (approx. 0.7 miles away); The Columns (approx. 1.2 miles away); Ala. Red-Bellied Turtle (approx. 1.3 miles away); The Jesup Wagon (approx. 1.3 miles away); Buffalo Soldiers (approx. 1.3 miles away); S.R. Butler High School / Stone Middle School (approx. 1.4 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Huntsville.
Photographed by Darren Jefferson Clay, July 20, 2025
2. McThornmor Acres Historic District Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on August 16, 2025. It was originally submitted on July 24, 2025, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. This page has been viewed 106 times since then and 21 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 24, 2025, by Darren Jefferson Clay of Duluth, Georgia. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.
