Athens, AL

Athens is the Limestone County seat in north Alabama, positioned along Interstate 65 between Nashville and Birmingham and tied into the Huntsville-Decatur-Albertville region. The area was part of Chickasaw lands before early Tennessee settlers moved in during the 1800s. Athens has a traditional courthouse-town center, local schools, and Athens State University, which gives the city a higher-education presence without making it feel like a large college town. Its location has become more valuable as growth from Huntsville pushes west into Limestone County.