Madison County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,120. The

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Danielsville. The county was created on December 5, 1811. The county's largest city is Comer with a population of 1,200. Madison County was included in the Athens–Clarke County metropolitan area, which is included in the

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

–Athens–Clarke County– Sandy Springs CSA.

History

Madison County was organized by an act of the General Assembly of Georgia on December 11, 1811. It was named for

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

, who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. It was the 38th county formed in Georgia, and began to function as a county in 1812. Madison County was formed from the counties of Clarke, Elbert, Franklin, Jackson, Oglethorpe. Early agriculture in Madison County was devoted to food crops and livestock (

cattle Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are calle ...

, hogs, and

sheep Sheep (: sheep) or domestic sheep (''Ovis aries'') are a domesticated, ruminant mammal typically kept as livestock. Although the term ''sheep'' can apply to other species in the genus '' Ovis'', in everyday usage it almost always refers to d ...

), which were sufficient to feed the population. Just 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 ...

ended, the demand for a

cash crop A cash crop, also called profit crop, is an Agriculture, agricultural crop which is grown to sell for profit. It is typically purchased by parties separate from a farm. The term is used to differentiate a marketed crop from a staple crop ("subsi ...

led to major reliance on

cotton Cotton (), first recorded in ancient India, is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective case, around the seeds of the cotton plants of the genus '' Gossypium'' in the mallow family Malvaceae. The fiber is almost pure ...

. The soils of Madison County were heavily damaged by this cotton monoculture. From the 1930s on, agriculture became more diverse. Today,

agribusiness Agribusiness is the industry, enterprises, and the field of study of value chains in agriculture and in the bio-economy, in which case it is also called bio-business or bio-enterprise. The primary goal of agribusiness is to maximize profit ...

dominates the local economy, with poultry production particularly important. Madison and Oglethorpe counties share Watson Mill Bridge State Park, the site of the longest covered bridge in Georgia. The bridge, which is over 100 years old, spans 229 feet of the South Fork of the Broad River. There are also facilities for camping, hiking trails, picnicking, and fishing in the park. The Madison County Courthouse, one of the most ornate in Georgia, was built in 1901 for the sum of $18,314. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. New Hope Presbyterian Church, established in 1788, is the third oldest church in Georgia. Lt. Col. Lemuel Penn, a decorated veteran of World War II and a

United States Army Reserve The United States Army Reserve (USAR) is a Military reserve force, reserve force of the United States Army. Together, the Army Reserve and the Army National Guard constitute the Army element of the reserve components of the United States Armed ...

officer, was murdered by members of the

Ku Klux Klan The Ku Klux Klan (), commonly shortened to KKK or Klan, is an American Protestant-led Christian terrorism, Christian extremist, white supremacist, Right-wing terrorism, far-right hate group. It was founded in 1865 during Reconstruction era, ...

on July 11, 1964, nine days after passage of the

Civil Rights Act Civil Rights Act may refer to several civil right acts in the United States. These acts of the United States Congress are meant to protect rights to ensure individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private ...

, on a Broad River bridge on the Georgia State Route 172 in Madison County.

Postal history

In 1879, there were only four post offices in Madison County: Danielsville, Fort Lamar, Madison Springs and Paoli. In 1889, Madison county had post offices at Carlton, Danielsville, Dowdy, Fort Lamar, Gholston (Gholston's Stand), Hix, Ila, Madison Springs, Medicus, Paoli and Planter. By 1900, additional post offices had been opened in Alvin, Berea, Boggs, Carruth, Comer, Fiveforks (now Comer), Jeptha, Larkin, Monitor, Neese, Pocataligo and Sorrells, while the offices in Gholston and Medicus had been closed. By 1910, most of these post offices had closed; the only remaining ones were in Carlton, Colbert, Comer, Danielsville and Hull. By 1920, the office in Ila had reopened. The county would retain these six post offices

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.1%) is water. The vast majority of Madison County is located in the Broad River sub-basin of the

Savannah River The Savannah River is a major river in the Southeastern United States, forming most of the border between the states of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and South Carolina. The river flows from the Appalachian Mountains to the Atlantic Ocean, ...

basin, with just a very small portion of the county's western edge located in the Upper

Oconee River The Oconee River is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map Accessed April 21, 2011 river in the U.S. state of Georgia. Its origin is in Hall County and it terminates where it join ...

sub-basin of the

Altamaha River The Altamaha River is a major river in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It flows generally eastward for from its Source (river or stream), origin at the confluence of the Oconee River and Ocmulgee River towards the Atlantic Oce ...

basin.

Adjacent counties

* Franklin County, Georgia – north * Hart County, Georgia – northeast * Elbert County, Georgia – east * Oglethorpe County, Georgia – south * Clarke County, Georgia – southwest * Jackson County, Georgia – west * Banks County, Georgia – northwest

Major highways

U.S. Route 29 * Georgia 8

State Route 8 * Georgia 22

State Route 22 * Georgia 72

State Route 72 Business * Georgia 72

State Route 72 Bypass * Georgia 72

State Route 72 Spur * Georgia 98

State Route 98 * Georgia 106

State Route 106 * Georgia 172

State Route 172 * Georgia 174

State Route 174 * Georgia 191

State Route 191 * Georgia 281

State Route 281

Communities

Cities

* Carlton * Colbert * Comer * Danielsville * Hull * Ila

Unincorporated communities

* Alvin * Dogsboro * Fort Lamar * Hix * Neese * Paoli * Planter * Pocataligo * Sanford * Shiloh

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 30,120 people, 10,744 households, and 8,153 families residing in the county.

Government

The citizens of Madison County are represented by an elected six member board of commissioners. Each commissioner represents one of five districts plus a chairman of the board elected at large for the whole county.

Education

Madison County public education is served by the Madison County School District. The Madison County Board of Education oversees and operates the public charter school system in the School District. Madison County Board of Education operates 5 elementary schools, 1 middle school, 1 high school and 1 career academy. The Madison County Board of Education is overseen by 5 elected board members, from 5 districts in the county. The Board appoints a School Superintendent who works at the pleasure of the Board as a whole. The district has 290 full-time teachers and over 4,621 students.

Public Schools

* Colbert Elementary School * Comer Elementary School * Danielsville Elementary School * Hull-Sanford Elementary School * Ila Elementary School * Madison County Middle School (MCMS), Home of the Mustangs * Madison County High School (MCHS), Home of the Red Raiders * Broad River College and Career Academy

Private schools

* Union Christian Academy, Hull * The Busy Box Pre-School, Hull * The Learning Train Pre-School, Colbert * Building Blocks Pre-School, Hull

Notable people

* Allen Daniel Jr. – major general, Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives, state senator, namesake of Danielsville * Josh Fields – Major League baseball player * Crawford W. Long – the man who first used

ether In organic chemistry, ethers are a class of compounds that contain an ether group, a single oxygen atom bonded to two separate carbon atoms, each part of an organyl group (e.g., alkyl or aryl). They have the general formula , where R and R� ...

in surgery * Ralph Hudgens – Georgia insurance and safety fire commissioner * Jake Westbrook – former Major League baseball player

Historic sites

* Watson Mill Bridge – the longest original-site covered bridge in Georgia * Birthplace of Crawford W. Long * Murder site of Lt. Col. Lemuel Penn * William Bartram Trail

References

External links

Madison County Official Website

Madison County Chamber of Commerce
{{Coord, 34.13, -83.21, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-GA_source:UScensus1990 Georgia (U.S. state) counties 1811 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state) Populated places established in 1811 Athens – Clarke County metropolitan area