Huntsville was the first state capital of Alabama, if only for a year.
East end of town is the tail end of the Appalachian mountain range, but Huntsville is also in the Tennessee River Valley.
The U.S. Army chose Huntsville as the site for building chemical munitions facilities during WWII, in 1941. All three were combined after the war under the name Redstone Arsenal, which continues to this day.
Between the end of WWII and the start of the Korean War, RSA was chosen as a site for rocket and missile testing and development.
The Redstone Rocket began developement there during the Korean war and it became the basis for the US Space program and other major US Army missile programs that were subsequently developed in Huntsville.
In 1950, a large transfer of personnel occurred which included 200ish German scientists and engineers, including Wernher Von Braun who had been brought to the US after WWII. Huntsville's big conference center/arena/playhouse facility downtown is named for him/ The scientist and engineers settled and raised families in Huntsville, lending a German influence that persists.
In 1960, NASA's George C. Marshall Space Flight Center was established and was a major player in the development and deployment of the Saturn boosters used in the Apollo Lunar Landing Program, leading to Huntsville's nickname of "The Rocket City".
Space Camp happens here, and local kids often enjoy the experience around age 9 to 11!
With NASA and MDA (missile defense agency) being located there, Huntsville is not your typical Alabama city. Lots of transplants follow the path to Huntsville and often remain there once their contracts expire. The town boasts a population with higher than average levels of secondary and post-secondary education.
Huntsville also has an interesting hockey culture. Known as "The Hockey Capital of the South", they have an SPHL (low pro) team and for a couple decades now the only Division I NCAA program south of Ohio!
Huntsville enjoys a humid, subtropical climate. With hot, humid summers, and mild, wet winters. Loads of rain in the winter and spring. Lots of thunderstorms and heavy storms. Huntsville is at the tail end of Dixie alley--otherwise known as Tornado alley. And it even snows there every once in a while!
Huntsville is less than 6 hours from the Gulf of Mexico. Just 1:40 from Nashville, TN, 1:30 from Birmingham, AL, 3hrs from Memphis, TN, 1:45 from Chattanooga, TN, 3:45 or so to Atlanta, GA