Marshall

Formed January 9, 1836 (49^th county)

Marshall County (97,611), Guntersville (8,550), Albertville (22,392)

The red brick Guntersville courthouse is located on Blount Avenue at Court Street.  United States Highway 431 is Blount Avenue.  The current 1935 structure replaced an 1895 version.  The courthouse was remodeled in 1962.  C. H. McCauley is the architect of this Modern style courthouse.  The facility is located just north of the river.  The county was named for United States Chief Justice John Marshall.  Guntersville was named for settler John Gunter.  Marshall County was created on January 9, 1836 from parts of Blount and Jackson counties and Cherokee Territory as the 49^th county.  Claysville, Wyeth City, and Warrenton all served as the county seat.  Guntersville has been the county seat since 1848 and Albertville’s augmenting courthouse was added in 1935.  The red brick Albertville courthouse is on Main Street at Emmett Street.  Main Street is Alabama State Highway 205.  Veteran memorials are on the grounds. 

Marshall County government consists of a sheriff, revenue commissioner, and coroner (executive).  It has 5 commissioners (legislative.)  Four Circuit Judges, Two District Judges, and a Probate Judge, a District Attorney, and a County Clerk serve Marshall County (judicial.)  The county is situated in northeast Alabama just southeast of Huntsville, Alabama.  The Tennessee River flows through the middle of the county.  The center of the county is in Guntersville 3.2 miles South-Southeast of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Jackson, De Kalb, Etowah, Blount, Cullman, Morgan, and Madison counties.  Guntersville is the county seat and Albertville is the largest city.  Guntersville is 8.8% of the county population and Albertville is 22.9% of the county population. 

The county has an area of 565.8 square miles.  It ranks 61 out of 67 in size.  It ranks 14 out of 67 in population in the state.  It has a density of 175.7 persons per square mile making it 13 out of 67 in the state.  Marshall County has 51.5% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 231 crosses extreme Marshall County coming from Morgan County going into Cullman County.  United States Highway 431 crosses north to south from Madison County into Etowah County.  The county is shaped like a Native American’s head with a hook extending out west.  Guntersville is near of the county center.  Albertville is in the southeast corner of the county.  The county is in the Albertville Micropolitan Statistical Area.