Madison Township is one of ten

townships A township is a kind of human settlement or administrative subdivision, with its meaning varying in different countries. Although the term is occasionally associated with an urban area, that tends to be an exception to the rule. In Australia, Ca ...

Daviess County, Indiana Daviess County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 31,648. The county seat is Washington, Indiana, Washington. About 15% of the county's population is Amish ...

. As of the 2010 census, its population was 2,840 and it contained 1,233 housing units.

History

Madison Township was organized in 1823 and given the name of "Wallace Township". It had first been settled about two years before; the first pioneer was Baldwin Howard, whose initial residence was about south of the present town of

Odon Odon may refer to: ;People * Odon Bacqué, American politician and non-fiction writer * Odon of Greater Poland, duke of Greater Poland * Odon de Pins, Grand Master of the Knights Hospitaller * Jorge Odón, Argentine mechanic and inventor ;Places ...

. The original name was used for twelve years; in 1835, residents supported a petition to change the township's name to "Madison", and the county commissioners granted their request.Fulkerson, A.O., ed. ''History of Daviess County Indiana: Its People, Industries, and Institutions''. Bowen:

Indianapolis Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the state capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the seat of Marion County. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the consolidated population of Indianapolis and Marion ...

, 1915, 277-278. Among the township's leading nineteenth-century residents was one Ben Perkins, a

mulatto (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...

; despite the prevailing sentiments of the time, he was well regarded in the community. Living at a time when only whites held the franchise, he regularly voted the Whig ticket without being challenged. In the 1856 spring elections, the

Know Nothing The Know Nothing party was a nativist political party and movement in the United States in the mid-1850s. The party was officially known as the "Native American Party" prior to 1855 and thereafter, it was simply known as the "American Party". ...

movement was popular in Madison Township, and the Democrats nominated Perkins for township clerk; to their surprise, he won, and his actions in office won him the reputation of one of the best clerks the township ever had. To the even greater surprise of local Democratic leaders, Perkins refused to vote the party line in the

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of that autumn, instead supporting

John C. Frémont John Charles Frémont or Fremont (January 21, 1813July 13, 1890) was an American explorer, military officer, and politician. He was a U.S. Senator from California and was the first Republican nominee for president of the United States in 1856 ...

, the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, the township has a total area of , of which (or 99.59%) is land and (or 0.41%) is water.

Cities and towns

Unincorporated towns

* Farlen

Adjacent townships

* Taylor Township, Greene County (northeast) * Perry Township, Martin County (southeast) * Van Buren Township (south) * Bogard Township (southwest) * Elmore Township (west) * Cass Township, Greene County (northwest)

Major highways

* * *

Cemeteries

The township contains these cemeteries: Ferguson, Friendship, Pleasant Hill and Walnut Hill.

References

United States Census Bureau cartographic boundary files

U.S. Board on Geographic Names

External links

Indiana Township Association

United Township Association of Indiana
{{authority control Townships in Daviess County, Indiana Townships in Indiana 1823 establishments in Indiana Populated places established in 1823