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History · Redstone Arsenal

Redstone Arsenal dates to 1941, and 4 of its places are on the National Register

Most of Redstone Arsenal was built recently: 0.0% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1993. Below: 8 old photos and papers, maps from 1936 on, and the census since 1980.

1941founded
4on the National Register
0.0%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Redstone Arsenal’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Redstone Arsenal began

When was Redstone Arsenal founded?

1941

Redstone Arsenal dates its founding to 1941 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1980.

First census: 5,728 in 19802020 census: 83785 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓

What stands out about Redstone Arsenal’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A National Historic Landmark4 places on the National Register, 4 of them National Historic Landmarks.Old burying grounds13 cemeteries and burying grounds inside Redstone Arsenal.
★ What stands out · On the National Register

4 historic places in Redstone Arsenal

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving. 4 are National Historic Landmarks, the highest tier.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
4
Redstone Test Stand
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1976
Redstone Test Stand
Redstone Test Stand★Neutral Buoyancy Space Simulator, built 1967★Propulsion and Structural Test Facility★Saturn V Dynamic Test Stand★
Structures★ landmark
★ Landmark
Redstone Test StandStructure
★ Landmark
Neutral Buoyancy Space SimulatorBuilt 1967
★ Landmark
Propulsion and Structural Test FacilityStructure
★ Landmark
Saturn V Dynamic Test StandStructure

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Blue Spring, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Gone or out of use
Blue SpringlocaleCenter Grove ChurchchurchHickory Grove SchoolschoolPine Tree ChurchchurchPinegrove ChurchchurchPoplar Hill SchoolschoolSilver Hill Schoolschool
13cemeteries and burying grounds inside Redstone Arsenal
FennilHancockJonesJordan - LanierJordanJordanLandmanLanierLipscombMatkinsMcDonnellMooreWilliams

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Redstone Arsenal came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Redstone Arsenal.

Read it all →

The land occupied by the Redstone Arsenal was previously inhabited by Native Americans. 651 prehistoric archaeological sites have been archived at Redstone Arsenal to date. At least 22 have components dating to the Paleo-Indian period (9200 to 8000 BC). The Paleo-Indian handhewn projectile point called the Redstone Point was named after the Arsenal where it was first identified.

ChaptersPre-1941Huntsville ArsenalArmy Ordnance CorpsOrdnance schoolsArmy Ballistic Missile AgencyArmy Missile CommandToday

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Redstone Arsenal, 1850 to 1985

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1850Post officeThe Blue Spring post office opens
  3. 1894Post officeThe Blue Spring post office closes
  4. 20th century
  5. 1936On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1941
    FoundingRedstone Arsenal is established
  7. 1944In the archiveColonel Carroll D. Hudson
  8. 1957In the archiveColonel John C. Nickerson Jr
  9. 1960In the archive7101 area 1960
  10. 1964Born hereWynne Paris is born here
  11. 1967BuiltNeutral Buoyancy Space Simulator is built
  12. 1970In the archiveBldg 5250, MICOM HQs
  13. 1985LandmarkRedstone Test Stand named a National Historic Landmark
  14. 1985LandmarkNeutral Buoyancy Space Simulator named a National Historic Landmark
  15. 1985LandmarkPropulsion and Structural Test Facility named a National Historic Landmark
  16. 1985LandmarkSaturn V Dynamic Test Stand named a National Historic Landmark
By decade

Redstone Arsenal, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1940s to the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s–1960s6 items
Colonel Carroll D. Hudsonc. 1944Colonel Carroll D. HudsonColonel John C. Nickerson Jr1957Colonel John C. Nickerson JrEarly Rockets1958Early Rockets7101 area 196019607101 area 1960Barclay medaris debus 4feb60 011960Barclay medaris debus 4feb60 011st TOW concept mockupc. 19641st TOW concept mockup
1970s2 items
Bldg 5250, MICOM HQs1970sBldg 5250, MICOM HQsAeroballistic research facility. Artist’s conception1978Aeroballistic research facility. Artist’s conception
1980s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today10 recent
BRAC to the Future IV2010BRAC to the Future IVAmericas Army Screenshot 000592009Americas Army Screenshot 00059Americas Army Screenshot 000362009Americas Army Screenshot 00036Americas Army Screenshot 000022009Americas Army Screenshot 00002ATF Explosives Training2008ATF Explosives TrainingATF Explosives Training2008ATF Explosives TrainingATF Explosives Training2008ATF Explosives TrainingATF Explosives Training2008ATF Explosives TrainingATF Arson Class2008ATF Arson ClassALMap-doton-RedstoneArsenal2004ALMap-doton-RedstoneArsenal
On the map

Redstone Arsenal on the map, 1936 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Redstone Arsenal. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Redstone Arsenal on the 1936 USGS mapRedstone Arsenal on the 1948 USGS mapRedstone Arsenal on the 1950 USGS mapRedstone Arsenal on the 1964 USGS mapRedstone Arsenal on the 1975 USGS mapRedstone Arsenal on the 1982 USGS map1936Madison sheet · 1:24,000

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Redstone Arsenal.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Colonel Carroll D. Hudson
Retake this viewColonel Carroll D. Hudson, c. 1944

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Redstone Arsenal’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Redstone Arsenal, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5005,0005,5006,000198020002020Peak: 5,728

Between 837 and 5,728 people in every census since 1980.

5 censuses, 1980–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Redstone Arsenal’s Wikipedia page.

Help out

Finish Redstone Arsenal’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
4 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewColonel Carroll D. Hudson: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Huntsville72 historic placesB+

Questions about Redstone Arsenal’s history

What year was Redstone Arsenal founded?

In 1941, according to Wikidata. Redstone Arsenal’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1980 counted 5,728 people here.

What is on the National Register in Redstone Arsenal?

4 listings, 4 of them National Historic Landmarks: 4 structures.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (18), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.