Huntsville, Arkansas

Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, Arkansas, United States. The population was 2,879 at the 2020 census, up from 2,346 in 2010. During the American Civil War in 1862, it was the site of what became known as the Huntsville Massacre. Huntsville is part of the Northwest Arkansas region.

History
The city is named after Huntsville, Alabama, the hometown of some early settlers. Huntsville incorporated as a town after the Civil War in 1877. The community was incorporated as a city on July 16, 1925.

Geography
Huntsville is located north of the center of Madison County in the northwest part of the Arkansas Ozarks. Via U.S. Route 412 it is 28 mi east of Springdale and 47 mi west of Harrison.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 5.4 sqmi, of which 0.02 sqmi, or 0.33%, are water. Town Branch flows northward through the east side of the city, ending at Holman Creek in the northern part of the city. Holman Creek flows north into War Eagle Creek, which continues northwest to the White River east of Springdale.

2020 census
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,879 people, 866 households, and 517 families residing in the city. The population density was 640.0 PD/sqmi. There were 1,116 housing units at an average density of 282.7 /sqmi. There were 866 households, out of which 34.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.1% were married couples living together, 15.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.1% were non-families. 32.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 20.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 15.8% under the age of 5, 65.4% from 18 to 64, 12.8% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 87.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $34,167, and the median income for a family was $48,952. Males had a median income of $26,929 versus $19,766 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,686. About 29.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.1% of those under age 18 and 16.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education
The Huntsville School District provides public elementary and secondary education leading to graduation at Huntsville High School.

The Huntsville Public Library, part of the Madison Carroll and Madison Library System, is located at 827 N. College Street, which provides patrons of the library system access to print books, publications, multimedia content, internet access, public computer access, as well as access to an Interlibrary loan system.

Major highways

 * US 412.svg U.S. Route 412
 * US 412B.svg U.S. Route 412 Business
 * Arkansas 23.svg Highway 23
 * Arkansas 74.svg Highway 74

Aviation
The Huntsville Municipal Airport is a city-owned, public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) southwest of Huntsville's central business district.

Notable people

 * Joe Berry, Major League Baseball pitcher for the Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Athletics, and Cleveland Indians
 * Orval E. Faubus, 36th governor of Arkansas during the desegregation days; lived in Huntsville as a youth, having been born in the nearby Combs community
 * Ronnie Hawkins, legendary rockabilly musician; his band The Hawks later became The Band; born in Huntsville
 * Gary Miller, Republican congressman from California; born in Huntsville
 * Isaac Murphy, politician who lived and worked in Huntsville; elected as governor in 1863 after Union occupation of Little Rock
 * Danny L. Patrick, Republican member of the Arkansas House of Representatives from Madison and Carroll counties from 1967 to 1970; taught school in Huntsville from 1964 to 1971