Albertville, in Marshall County in northeast Alabama, was named for Thomas A. Albert, one of the first area residents, and lies on Sand Mountain, a plateau about 25 miles wide and 75 miles long. The area served as hunting ground for Indians until the early 1800s. Migration to the region began in 1844 and continued steadily until the Civil War, and another migration began in 1872 because of reports of rich soil and bountiful forest. Albertville was first settled around 1850, and its first post office was established on January 13, 1860. The community that became present-day Albertville can be traced to 308 West Main Street, where in 1856 it became known as Jones Chapel after Vincent Jones, an early settler who arrived before 1830, and where what is now First United Methodist Church was organized that same year. The city was officially incorporated on February 18, 1891. In 1883, what is now First Baptist Church was organized across the street on the western side of the Old City Cemetery, and in 1895 the Methodist church relocated to Madison Avenue while its former building was purchased by the Primitive Baptist Church; in 1900, the Baptist church moved to its present-day East Main Street location. One of the worst tornadoes in Alabama history destroyed Albertville in 1908, but the town was rebuilt. An electric system was quickly built, the city water system was inaugurated in 1909, and the first hospital was built in 1917. The first school, where the first sessions of the Seventh District Agricultural School were held, was built adjoining the Methodist Church. In 2008, the City of Albertville designated Little Branch Church as a future museum and cultural center.