Athens, Alabama

== History == Founded in 1818 by John Coffee, Robert Beaty, John D.

Carroll, and John Read, Athens is one of the oldest incorporated cities in the state, having been incorporated one year prior to the state's admittance to the Union in 1819.

In 1822, local residents purchased 5 acres (20,000 m2) of land and constructed a building to house the Athens Female Academy.

The school became affiliated with the Methodist church in 1842, and was eventually renamed Athens Female College.

== Demographics == Athens first appeared on the 1850 U.S.

It did not appear on the 1860 census, but returned again in 1870 and every census to date.

On May 2, 1862, during the Civil War, Athens was seized by Union forces under the command of Col.

== Athens Precinct/Division (1870–) == Athens, the 1st Beat/Precinct of Limestone County first reported on the 1870 U.S.

Houston, Alabama's first post-Reconstruction Democratic governor, who served from 1874 through 1878.

It did not report a figure for 1880, but returned in 1890 and every census to date.

After becoming coeducational in 1932, the school changed its name again to Athens College.

In 1960, Athens precinct was changed to a census division as part of a general reorganization of counties.

After being taken over by the State of Alabama in 1974, the college was converted to a "reverse junior college", offering the last two years of instruction for graduates of area...

On March 22, 1975, the Browns Ferry plant became the scene of what was, with the exception of the Three Mile Island accident, the most serious nuclear accident in United States ...

=== 2000 Census data === As of the census of 2000, there were 18,967 people, 7,742 households, and 5,140 families residing in the city.

=== 2010 Census === As of the census of 2010, there were 21,897 people, 9,038 households, and 5,881 families residing in the city.

=== 2020 Census === As of the 2020 United States census, there were 25,406 people, 9,397 households, and 6,080 families residing in the city.

Athens was one of the fastest growing areas in Alabama in the 2023 census estimates with 30,904 people recorded in the estimates.