Map of Rainbow City, Alabama

Rainbow City is a city in Etowah County, Alabama, United States. It incorporated in 1950. The population was 9,602 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Gadsden Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Rainbow City overview:
Name:	Rainbow City
LSAD Code:	25
LSAD Description:	city (suffix)
State:	Alabama
County:	Etowah County
Elevation:	518 ft (158 m)
Total Area:	25.92 sq mi (67.13 km²)
Land Area:	25.58 sq mi (66.25 km²)
Water Area:	0.34 sq mi (0.88 km²)
Total Population:	10,191
Population Density:	398.41/sq mi (153.83/km²)
ZIP code:	35901, 35906
Area code:	256
FIPS code:	0163288
GNISfeature ID:	2404588
Website:	www.rbcalabama.com

Online Interactive Map

Rainbow City online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Rainbow City location map. Where is Rainbow City?

Rainbow City location on the U.S. Map. Where is Rainbow City. — Rainbow City location on the U.S. Map.

Rainbow City location on the Alabama map. Where is Rainbow City. — Location of Rainbow City in Alabama.

History

This city was named after U.S. Highway 411, called Rainbow Drive, which runs through the middle of the city.

Hernando de Soto’s troops were the first visitors to the area in 1540. In 1818, families from the Carolinas and Georgia began to migrate to the area and homestead land near the Coosa River, calling the area “Coosa Bend”. This area was later called “Morgan’s Cross Road”, located at the intersection of the Gadsden-Ashville Road and Gilbert’s Ferry Road.

John Sheffield Jones, the grandson of an original settler, donated $1,000 and the land for the construction of the first John S. Jones Elementary School. This school later burned to the ground; a new elementary school was built and serves the Rainbow City area today.

On April 2, 1831, a church was organized at the Harmony Meeting House. A few years later, the first Baptist association was organized. Harmony was one of the first five members in the association. The adjoining cemetery, Old Harmony Cemetery, has been declared a historic landmark.

Rainbow City Road Map

Rainbow City Satellite Map

Geography

Rainbow City is located in southern Etowah County at 33°56′38″N 86°3′42″W / 33.94389°N 86.06167°W / 33.94389; -86.06167 (33.943964, −86.061546). It is bordered to the northeast by Gadsden, the county seat, to the southeast by the Coosa River, across which is the city of Southside, and to the southwest, across Little Canoe Creek, by the town of Steele in St. Clair County.

U.S. Route 411 (Rainbow Drive) is the main road through the city, leading northeast 6 miles (10 km) to the center of Gadsden and southwest 15 miles (24 km) to Ashville. Alabama State Route 77 (Grand Avenue) crosses US 411 in the center of Rainbow City, leading northwest 4 miles (6 km) to Interstate 59 at Exit 181 and south 26 miles (42 km) to Lincoln.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Rainbow City has a total area of 25.6 square miles (66.3 km), of which 25.4 square miles (65.9 km) is land and 0.15 square miles (0.4 km), or 0.58%, is water.