Madison is a city in and the county seat of Madison County, on the central northern border of

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, United States. The population was 2,912 at the 2020 census.

History

The territory now known as Madison County was ruled at various times by

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

and The United States of America. This area was developed for cotton

plantation Plantations are farms specializing in cash crops, usually mainly planting a single crop, with perhaps ancillary areas for vegetables for eating and so on. Plantations, centered on a plantation house, grow crops including cotton, cannabis, tob ...

s dependent on the labor of enslaved African Americans. After the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

and emancipation, many

freedmen A freedman or freedwoman is a person who has been released from slavery, usually by legal means. Historically, slaves were freed by manumission (granted freedom by their owners), emancipation (granted freedom as part of a larger group), or self- ...

and their descendants stayed in the region, working as

sharecroppers Sharecropping is a legal arrangement in which a landowner allows a tenant (sharecropper) to use the land in return for a share of the crops produced on that land. Sharecropping is not to be conflated with tenant farming, providing the tenant a ...

or tenant farmers. Racial violence of whites against blacks increased after the

Reconstruction era The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...

, reaching a peak near the turn of the 20th century. The following

African Americans African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa ...

were

lynched Lynching is an extrajudicial killing by a group. It is most often used to characterize informal public executions by a mob in order to punish an alleged or convicted transgressor or to intimidate others. It can also be an extreme form of in ...

in Madison: Savage and James in 1882, Charles Martin, 1 February 1899; both James Denson and his stepson, 7 January 1901; and an unidentified man, 9 February 1906.David Mark Greaves, "View From Here: Never Forget -(The Lynching List)"
3 February 2012; accessed 19 March 2018

Geography

Madison is located slightly east of the center of Madison County at (30.466, –83.415). U.S. Route 90 passes through the center of town, leading west to

Tallahassee Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of and the only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2024, the est ...

, the state capital, and southeast to Lake City.

Interstate 10 Interstate 10 (I-10) is the southernmost transcontinental highway in the Interstate Highway System of the United States. It is the fourth-longest Interstate in the country at , following I-90, I-80, and I-40. It was part of the origina ...

passes to the south of Madison with access from exits 251 and 258. According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the city has a total area of , of which , or 1.93%, are water.

Climate

The climate for the City of Madison is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Madison has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

zone, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

2010 and 2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 2,912 people, 1,101 households, and 556 families residing in the city. As of the 2010 United States census, there were 2,843 people, 1,237 households, and 696 families residing in the city.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 3,061 people, 1,227 households, and 764 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,395 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 35.74%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 62.43%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.10% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.29% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.16% of the population. In 2000, there were 1,227 households, out of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 31.6% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 27.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.7% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.2% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 3.13. In 2000, in the city, the population was spread out, with 29.1% under the age of 18, 10.7% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 19.0% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 83.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.6 males. In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $17,656, and the median income for a family was $22,988. Males had a median income of $24,101 versus $23,750 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $10,041. About 37.0% of families and 39.9% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 49.2% of those under age 18 and 28.9% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Madison has the city manager-council form of government. City commissioners are elected from districts and serve for four years. The commission appoints the city manager and city clerk; a mayor-commissioner serves a one-year term. The City of Madison has a 14 officer police department, and a 9 firefighter fire department. The 2008–2009 millage rate is 6.0484. The General Fund Budget is $7,344,592. Emphasis is placed on public safety, primarily expanding the Fire Department full-time personnel to implement a 24/48 hour, 3 shift coverage. In addition, the city plans to address abandoned and rundown property issues.

Education

Madison is served by two campuses of the District School Board of Madison County, Madison County Central School (PK–8) and Madison County High School. Two high performing charter schools are available and are as follows: Madison Creative Arts Academy (K-8) mcaa.academy James Madison Preparatory High School (9-12) jmphs.org North Florida College provides post-secondary instruction for six counties (Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Madison, Suwannee, and Taylor). In addition, St. Leo University provides university instruction at the junior-senior level. File:Madison County Central School.jpg, Madison County Central School File:Madison County High School, Madison.jpg, Madison County High School

Media

Area newspapers published by Greene Publishing are '' Madison County Carrier'' and '' The Madison Enterprise Recorder''.

Transportation

Madison is served by Madison Shuttle, a bus route operated by Big Bend Transit. Freight service is provided by the

Florida Gulf & Atlantic Railroad The Florida Gulf and Atlantic Railroad is a shortline railroad owned and operated by RailUSA in the Florida Panhandle. The line consists of 430 miles (692 km) of track: a main line from Baldwin, Florida (just west of Jacksonville), through Ta ...

, which acquired most of the former

CSX CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Railroad classes, Class I freight railroad company operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. Operating about 21,000 route miles () of trac ...

main line from Pensacola to Jacksonville on June 1, 2019.

Notable people

* LeGarrette Blount,

NFL The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The N ...

running back * Lorenzo Cain,

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

player * Geno Hayes, NFL linebacker * Colin Kelly,

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

hero * Scott Kelly, politician * Jacobbi McDaniel, NFL defensive tackle * Scott Phillips, drummer for the band

Creed A creed, also known as a confession of faith, a symbol, or a statement of faith, is a statement of the shared beliefs of a community (often a religious community) which summarizes its core tenets. Many Christian denominations use three creeds ...

Jesse Solomon Jesse William Solomon (born November 4, 1963) is an American former professional football linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for the Minnesota Vikings, Dallas Cowboys, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Atlanta Falcons, and Miami Dolphins. He p ...

, NFL linebacker * Chris Thompson, NFL running back * Ernest Thomas, one of the Groveland Four, killed by a sheriff's posse in Madison in July 1949, exonerated in 2021 *

Don Williams Donald Ray Williams (May 27, 1939 – September 8, 2017) was an American country music singer, songwriter, and 2010 inductee into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Country Music Hall of Fame. He began his solo career in 1971, singing p ...

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

stock car driver

References

External links

*
Greater Madison County Chamber of Commerce

Madison County, Florida
tourism site
''Madison Enterprise-Recorder''
newspaper that serves Madison, Florida is available in full-text with images i
Florida Digital Newspaper Library
{{authority control County seats in Florida Cities in Madison County, Florida Cities in Florida