From its incorporation in 1870 until 1890, it was the largest community in Jackson County, losing the distinction from 1900 to 1920 to Bridgeport,[2] but reclaiming the title in 1930 and holding it since that time.

Prior to Scottsboro's founding, the area surrounding the present-day city was inhabited by the Cherokee Indians.

John Hunt, in 1805, decided to migrate to the area and built a small log cabin in the woods near the river.

[5] Since Bellefonte had better access to the Tennessee River than Sauta, more settlers started moving to the area.

Scottsboro's founder, Robert Thomas Scott, served in the Alabama Legislature[6] for almost 20 years and later ran a hotel in Bellefonte.

[7][8] Since he and his wife, Elizabeth, wanted a place to call their own and were not very fond of Bellefonte, they moved to Scottsboro around 1850–53.

[8] Bellefonte citizens rejected the railroad because they did not want train travel to interfere with the town's thriving river trade.

[citation needed] Selection of the new county seat began in 1860 by having a contest to see which towns were suitable.

Many of the county's towns pushed for their selection, but the leading candidates were Hollywood, Stevenson, Larkinsville, and Scotts-borough (Scottsboro).

In 1906, local blacksmith H.C. Payne built Scottsboro's first homemade automobile, which was made with a wooden frame, four sprocket wheels and hand-powered cranks.

It was twice appealed to the United States Supreme Court and established the principles that, in the United States, criminal defendants are entitled to effective assistance of counsel[14] and that people may not be de facto excluded from juries due to their race.

The victims and accused alike had all hitched rides on a passing train on the Southern Railroad freight route from Chattanooga to Memphis on March 25, 1931.

It happened to stop in Jackson County, Alabama where these women made their accusations to local officials against these black youths.

[17] During the course of four trials, most of the youths were convicted and sentenced to death by all-white juries, although witnesses provided weak and contradictory testimonies.

The case is now widely regarded (including in Scottsboro) as one of the worst travesties of justice perpetrated against blacks in the post-Reconstruction South.

Of the original nine young black defendants (some of them minors at the time of arrest), accused of gang raping two fellow hobo white women on a freight train, eight were quickly convicted and sentenced to death by all-white juries in trials occurring in a mob atmosphere in Scottsboro.

[18] "In January, 2004, amidst television cameras and radio and newspaper reporters, a crowd gathered near the Jackson County Court House in Scottsboro to dedicate a historical marker commemorating the Scottsboro Boys' trial and their struggle for justice.

"[19] "An 87-year-old black man who attended the ceremony, one of the few who could remember the cases firsthand, recalled that the mob scene following the Boys' arrest 'was frightening' and that death threats were leveled against the jailed suspects.

In 1913, the city purchased approximately 30 acres (12 ha) for a water system on Sand Mountain.

[27] In 1932, Scottsboro officially became a "city" when an act of the Alabama Legislature bestowed that title on towns with more than 2,000 inhabitants.

Because of the growth in population and demand, more rooms were added to expand offices for services such as automobile tags and land records.

Since the early 1980s to the late 2000s, Scottsboro has seen substantial population growth and an economy moved away from its rural agrarian past to a more diversified one.

Real estate in a small town environment and competitive state business tax rates both appealed to newcomers who bought homes and/or commuted to jobs in Chattanooga, Huntsville and Atlanta.

The prices are low and the offerings eclectic enough to attract visitors from other states, and even from other parts of the world who make their way to Scottsboro to see what others have lost.

During the Civil War, Union raiders and Confederate soldiers fought in a skirmish, which ended up with bullet holes in the brick walls and wooden cargo doors.

[39] In the old Southern style, First Monday is a trade day (or craft show) in which people set up booths and sell homemade wares.

The small, yet elegant, shop shows off a 1950s-themed design, offering the classic malt, and it even sports rare photographs of Scottsboro's past.

King Caldwell Park is situated near downtown Scottsboro, right next to the Library and across the street from the Police Department.

[citation needed] The attraction of Guntersville Lake has brought in numerous real estate developers.

The Goose Pond area of Scottsboro has seen recent development of communities centered around a lake-living lifestyle.