[5] Guntersville is located in a HUBZone as identified by the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA).

Guntersville was founded by John Gunter (1765–1835), the great-grandfather of American humorist Will Rogers.

Gunter was the wealthy owner of a salt mine in the early 19th century.

In order to obtain more land to mine, Gunter struck a deal with the Cherokee tribe that inhabited the area to use in his household as servants.

As part of the deal, Gunter married the daughter (Ghe-No-He-Li, aka Katy and Cathrine) of the tribe's chief (Chief Bushyhead of the Paint Clan) and agreed to give salt to the tribe.

[7] The United States Navy began operating a fleet of gunboats on the Tennessee River in late 1864.

Confederate troops mounted a spirited defense of the river from Guntersville.

In January 1865, the USS General Grant attempted to destroy the town in retaliation.

[8] For much of the 20th century, the economy of Guntersville revolved around cotton processing, especially with the Saratoga Victory Mill.

[9] U.S. Route 431 (Gunter Avenue and Blount Avenue) is the main road through the city, leading northwest 37 miles (60 km) to Huntsville, and southeast 10 miles (16 km) to Albertville.

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 8,553 people, 3,312 households, and 2,179 families residing in the city.

His private plane departed Guntersville the next day, New Year's Eve, and crashed near DeKalb, Texas.

[20][21] In Hunting Mister Heartbreak: A Discovery of America, the British author Jonathan Raban becomes a temporary resident of the city, to which he takes a liking in his conservative persona as John Rayburn.