[2][7] The town was first called Athenson, but was incorporated as Athens after the ancient city in Greece.

[9] 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.

[11] On May 2, 1862, during the Civil War, Athens was seized by Union forces under the command of Col. John Basil Turchin.

[12] After occupying the town on May 2, 1862, Turchin assembled his men and reportedly told them: "I shut my eyes for two hours.

Houston was noted for reducing the debts incurred to benefit private railroad speculators and others by his Reconstruction Republican predecessors.

[15] Athens was traditionally a cotton and railroad town, but since the local aerospace boom of the 1950s and 1960s, it has increasingly entered the orbit of nearby industry center Huntsville as the area's cotton production has steadily declined.

A worker using a candle to check for air leaks started a fire among control wires, causing a temporary threat to operational control of the reactor (see Browns Ferry Nuclear Power Plant article on Unit One Fire).

[16] On December 28, 2024, a high-end EF1 tornado struck downtown Athens causing significant damage to the Limestone Courthouse square and caused roof damage to many businesses in downtown Athens and several trees were uprooted including one outside the courthouse.

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally cool winters.

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

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

[34] Athens was the primary filming location of Brittany Howard's "Stay High" music video.

The video stars Terry Crews as a blue-collar man driving home from a job at a nearby Decatur plant.

Howard, an Athens native and member of Alabama Shakes, wrote in a press release that "Terry Crews plays a man who isn't out to change the world, he plays a man who just wants to come home to those who understand and love him best".

The video features Crews singing along to the Grammy-winning "Stay High" while visiting local landmarks and establishments, such as Decatur's US-72 ALT Bridge, and Athens's Hometown Grocery, Dub's Burgers, and historic Kreme Delite.