[5] In the 19th century, Gadsden was 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.

From the late 19th century through the 1980s, Gadsden was a center of heavy industry, including the Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company and Republic Steel.

In 1991, following more than a decade of sharp decline in industry, Gadsden was awarded the honor of All-America City by the National Civic League.

The first substantial European-American settlement in the area that developed as Gadsden was a village called "Double Springs".

It was founded in about 1825 by John Riley, a mixed-race American Indian and European-American settler who built his house near two springs.

The Hughes brothers purchased much of the land between Lookout Mountain, the Coosa River, and the mouth of Wills Creek.

The brothers proposed constructing a railroad from the port of Savannah to Nashville, Tennessee through their land.

[7] The original 120 acres (49 ha) survey of Gadsden included the Hughes brothers' land, plus that of John S. Moragne and Lewis L. Rhea.

With unionization, industrial workers could earn middle-class salaries and improve their lives, even as African Americans struggled under Jim Crow laws and political disenfranchisement.

Redevelopment efforts, such as the Cultural Arts Center and downtown revitalization, earned Gadsden first place in the 2000 City Livability Awards Program of the US Conference of Mayors.

Gadsden is located in central Etowah County at 34°0′37″N 86°0′37″W / 34.01028°N 86.01028°W / 34.01028; -86.01028 (34.010147, −86.010356),[12] and developed on both sides of the Coosa River.

Typical of the Deep South, Gadsden experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen Cfa) with four distinct seasons.

[13] While rain is abundant (January and February are on average the wettest months), measurable snowfall is rare, with most years receiving none.

Summers are hot and humid, lasting from mid-May to mid-September, and the July daily average temperature is 80.6 °F (27.0 °C).

Autumn, which spans from mid-September to early-December, tends to be similar to spring in terms of temperature and precipitation, although it begins relatively dry.

According to the City's 2022 Comprehensive Annual Financial Report,[19] the largest employers in the city are: Citing statistics from the Alabama Department of Industrial Relations and the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Alabama, the Gadsden-Etowah County Industrial Development Authority reports that approximately 12,000 residents of Etowah County were underemployed and 2,179 residents were unemployed as of 2008.

In a 1960 attack, the synagogue was fire-bombed, its windows smashed, and two members shot and wounded by a Nazi sympathizer.

In May 2010, the Gadsden Police Department acquired two unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) under the auspices of a $150,000 federal grant.

is designed to be a multi-dimensional program emphasizing habilitation (i.e., equipping at-risk youth on juvenile probation with skills needed to meet the demands of modern society).

offers academic remediation in reading, math, language; intensive counseling that involves behavior modification, consumer education, and job readiness training.

Program of Etowah County (Gadsden) received the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Unique and Innovative Project Award.