Decatur, Alabama
Decatur, Alabama is a city in Morgan County, Alabama, with a small portion in southern Limestone County. The city is named after naval hero Stephen Decatur, Jr. Decatur is the core city of the Decatur Metropolitan Area, and the second largest(core) city in the Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. Decatur sits on the southern bank of the Tennessee River and currently has an estimated population of 54,528. The median income for a household in the city was $37,192, and the median income for a family was $47,574. The city is served by the Huntsville International Airport (a part of the Port of Huntsville), as well as Pryor Field Regional Airport.
Decatur was a very important point in North Alabama during its earliest days as it was the Eastern Terminus of the Decatur-Courtland-Tuscumbia Railroad, the first railway built west of the Appalachian Mountains. Decatur was also the site of several encounters during the American Civil War. The Old State Bank, on the edge of downtown, is the oldest bank building in the State of Alabama. The first Wave Pool in the United States was built here, and the city is also home to the largest Victorian Era Home District in the State of Alabama. Decatur is also home to the oldest Opera House in the State of Alabama (Cotaco Opera House) and the city is known as "The Home of Meow Mix", after the company bought a 200,000 square foot facility in town, utilizing its river front property to ship the finished product up and down the Tennessee River.
Decatur has grown to be the busiest river port on the Tennessee River and sees large amounts of barge traffic from up and down the river. This traffic has brought 20 Fortune 500 companies to open up plants in the city. The city lies within the region that has the most engineers per person in the nation.
This makes for one of, if not the most, educated regions in Alabama, thus stimulating the economy and growth of the city/region. In 2002, the City of Decatur was recognized as one of the top 50 cities in the United States for manufacturing expansion.
