New Market, AL

New Market is an unincorporated census-designated place in northeast Madison County, included in the Huntsville-Decatur combined statistical area. The 2020 census counted 1,314 residents within the CDP. It was the first area settled in Madison County: Isaac and Joseph Criner established a home in 1804 near the Mountain Fork of the Flint River. The waterway still shapes the historic district, which includes old homes and churches around College Street, Mountain Fork, and Winchester Road. Mount Paran Cemetery adds another layer, holding the graves of early New Market settlers.

ATTRChris Pruitt / CC BY-SA 3.0

Current New Market life is tied to Madison County Schools. New Market School serves younger students, and Buckhorn High School on Winchester Road opened in 1958 to educate children from New Market and Riverton. The community has never incorporated, so schools, roads, cemeteries, and the historic district provide the clearest local institutions. Huntsville is the nearby metropolitan connection; the Mountain Fork and Backbone Mountain keep the place geographically distinct from the larger city.