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Gadsden is a city in and the county seat of Etowah County in the State of Alabama, and it is located on the Coosa River about northeast of Birmingham, Alabama and southwest of Chattanooga, Tennessee. It is the primary city of the Gadsden Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of 103,931. As of the U.S. Census Bureau estimate in 2013, the population of the city was about 36,542.〔 Gadsden and Rome, Georgia are the largest cities in the triangular area defined by the Interstate highways between Atlanta, Birmingham, and Chattanooga. Gadsden was at one time in the 19th century Alabama's second most important center of commerce and industry, trailing only the seaport of Mobile. The two cities were important shipping centers: Gadsden for riverboats and Mobile for international trade. Through the 1980s, Gadsden was a center on heavy industry, including the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and the Republic Steel Corporation. More than a decade after the sharp decline in industry, in 1991 Gadsden was awarded the honor of All-America City by the National Civic League, an award that honored the way Gadsden's citizens, government, businesses, and voluntary organizations work together to address critical local issues. ==History== The first substantial white settlement in what is now Gadsden was a village called "Double Springs". It was founded in about 1825 by John Riley, a mixed race American Indian and caucasian settler who built his house near two springs. Riley's home became a stagecoach stop on the Huntsville-to-Rome route. The original building still stands today as the oldest in Gadsden. The house was purchased by Gabriel and Asenath Hughes in 1840. The Hughes brothers purchased much of the land between Lookout Mountain, the Coosa River, and the mouth of Wills Creek. The brothers proposed bringing a railroad from Savannah to Nashville through their land.〔Lawrence, James. ''A Study of the Origins of Gadsden, Alabama''. 2005.〕 The original 120 acres survey of Gadsden included the Hughes brothers' land, plus that of John S. Moragne and Lewis L. Rhea, made up the 120 acres on which the original survey of Gadsden was made. On July 4, 1845, Captain James Lafferty piloted the steamboat ''Coosa''. to the settlement, landing near the site of the current Memorial Bridge. The Hughes brothers suggested renaming the town "Lafferty's Landing", but instead Gadsden was adopted in honor of Colonel James Gadsden of South Carolina, later to become famous for negotiating the Gadsden Purchase from Mexico.〔(Gadsden-Etowah Tourism Board: Early Gadsden History (archived) )〕 After most of Gadsden's major industries closed in the 1970s and 80's, the city began to decline. A Rand McNally article in 1989 listed Gadsden as one of the ''"Seven Worst Cities to Live in the United States"''. The city government was spurred to action by these reports, and efforts like the Cultural Arts Center and downtown redevelopment earned Gadsden first place in the 2000 City Livability Awards Program.〔("Gadsden Receives First Place in 2000 City Livability Awards Program." ''The United States Conference of Mayors'' ), however underemployment continues as a very severe problem as indicated by the economic data presented below. Accessed December 9, 2005.〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Gadsden, Alabama」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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