Huntsville in Madison County, Alabama — The American South (East South Central)

Original Site of the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH)

Photographed by Jimmy Emerson, May 9, 2026

1. Original Site of the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) Marker

Inscription.
In November 1949, following an extensive lobbying campaign by Huntsville leaders, the University of Alabama approved the creation of an extension center in the city. The first classes of the University of Alabama-Huntsville Center (renamed to the University of Alabama in Huntsville) began here with 137 students, in a building that would later house Stone Middle School and the second location of S. R. Butler High School. Within a decade, enrollment at the Huntsville Center grew to more than 1,700 students, many of them military veterans or active-duty soldiers stationed at nearby Redstone Arsenal. In the 1960s, the Alabama Legislature appropriated funds to aid in the construction of a branch campus at its present-day location. By 1969, the campus included Morton, Madison, Spragins, and Wilson halls, as well as the M. Louis Salmon Library and the University Center. Today, the University of Alabama in Huntsville is recognized as one of the most comprehensive research universities in the world.

Erected 2024 by Alabama Historical Association.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic

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list: Education. A significant historical year for this entry is 1949.

Location. 34° 43.241′ N, 86° 36.445′ W. Marker is in Huntsville, Alabama, in Madison County. It is on Clinton Avenue West north of Governors Dr SW, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 2610 Clinton Ave W, Huntsville AL 35805, 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 one mile of this marker, measured as the crow flies: S.R. Butler High School / Stone Middle School (here, next to this marker); West Huntsville Baptist Church (approx. ¼ mile away); Glenwood Cemetery (approx.

Photographed by Jimmy Emerson, May 9, 2026

2. Original Site of the University of Alabama in Huntsville (UAH) Marker

The UAH marker is to the right of the SR Butler/Stone Middle School marker.

half a mile away); Lowe Mill / General Shoe Company Lowe Mill Arts and Entertainment (approx. 0.6 miles away); S.R. Butler High School (approx. ¾ mile away); C.B. "Bill" Miller Bridge (approx. 0.9 miles away); St. Joseph's Mission School (approx. one mile away); William Hooper Councill High School Site (approx. 1.1 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Huntsville.

More about this marker. Though the marker states it was erected in 2024, it was actually installed December 16, 2025.

Credits. This page was last revised on May 11, 2026. It was originally submitted on May 9, 2026, by Jimmy Emerson of Dalton, Georgia. This page has been viewed 18 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on May 9, 2026, by Jimmy Emerson of Dalton, Georgia. • James Hulse was the editor who published this page.