Ardmore, AL is part of the Huntsville-Decatur metro area and is home to the Saturn IB. It is on the north end of Limestone County and shares a border with its sister city Ardmore, TN. 

According to the Greater Ardmore Chamber of Commerce, “Ardmore began in 1911 as a railroad stop named Austin after a store owner, Alex Austin, who worked with construction crews working along the railroad between Nashville and Decatur.”

Ardmore, AL was incorporated in 1922 and Ardmore, TN was incorporated in 1949. The town, originally named Austin, was later renamed Ardmore by a railroad company after Ardmore, PA.

As of the 2020 census, Ardmore, AL was home to between 1,300 and 1,600 people and is approximately 2 square miles in size with just under approximately 700 people per square mile occupying the city. 

For the most part, Main Street serves as the state line. 

Ardmore, AL and Ardmore, TN have a longstanding municipal relationship. While the cities’ relationship isn’t formally recognized by Alabama and Tennessee on the state level, the two cities have always worked together and shared municipal responsibilities, such as their police department which services both cities. 

According to the Chamber, “Ardmore is rare in that it is in two states, Alabama, and Tennessee, and four counties, Limestone (AL), Madison (AL), Giles (TN), and Lincoln (TN). This can make city, county, and state government a very interesting task at times. Ardmore has two mayors and a town and city council. They have one police and fire department that service both the town and the city.”

Mayor Billy Shannon has been in government with the City of Ardmore, AL for nearly four decades and shared his experience with The News Courier. 

“I’ve been involved with the town council, this is my 38th year, I’ve been involved. I was on the council 28 years, and I’ve been I’m in my third term as mayor,” said Shannon.

“Even though we have rules that Tennessee has to go by, and rules and Alabama has to go by, we just kind of run it. Some of the stuff we have to keep separate, but some of the stuff we run together,” said Shannon.

Until 2016, the two cities shared a street department, but ultimately, they split the department into Alabama and Tennessee. The Ardmore Police Department, Ardmore Fire Department and the Emergency Management Agency are still shared services, and the two cities have joint municipal meetings. 

“Then we have a water board, which is an Alabama corporation, but there are two Tennessee council people that sit on that board and then the Tennessee side has a library board, and we have Alabama representatives that sit on there. So, we try to work together on that kind of stuff,” said Shannon.

Tennessee has six councilmembers and Alabama has five, any issue pertaining to a shared department is dealt with in a joint meeting for the councils and issues individual to the states, such as roads, are dealt with in the individual councils. 

As it pertains to taxes to support shared departments, the costs are split between the two states. Tennessee residents are paid by Tennessee and Alabama residents are paid by Alabama. 

While Tennessee and Alabama do not recognize Ardmore as one large city, the people of Ardmore do consider themselves one family with little regard to the state line. 

“When they think of Ardmore, I don’t want them to think about Alabama or Tennessee side, which side are you on. We’re all one family as far as I am concerned,” said Shannon. “We may argue a little bit amongst ourselves, but if anybody else gets in it, we will let them know that we’re all one. We’re all together.”

Operating as one city allows there to be less of a financial burden on one state or the other and allows a greater sense of community and family. Without worrying so much about which side of the state line someone lives or works on, it allows residents to feel like they are part of a much bigger picture. 

While the city governments cooperate with one another, so do the school systems. 

According to the Chamber, “Ardmore High School and Cedar Hill Elementary are in the Town limits of Ardmore, Alabama. To help the town maintain a local school system, the State of Alabama, the Limestone County Board of Education, the Giles County Board of Education, and the Lincoln County Board of Education have an agreement which allows city residents living on the Ardmore, Tennessee side to attend Ardmore High School and/or Cedar Hill Elementary with a yearly tuition.”

The city, who has a rich and unique shared history between counties and states, looks forward to sharing its continuing history for years to come.