The City of Huntsville was incorporated on November 14, 1877. Huntsville was laid out in lots from 1837 to 1839. The town was settled by people from Alabama, Tennessee, and other states. A large group of people came from Huntsville, Madison County, Alabama and managed to get the new town named after their old home. John Buchanan, postmaster, managed to get the town changed to “Sevierville” after Ambrose Sevier, a famous Arkansan, but the other residents changed the name back to Huntsville.