The Madison Historic District is a historic district located in

Madison, Indiana Madison is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, Indiana, United States, along the Ohio River. As of the 2010 United States Census its population was 11,967. Over 55,000 people live within of downtown Madison. Madison is the large ...

. In 2006, it was named a National Historic Landmark due to its unique Midwestern beauty and architecture scheme.National Historic Landmarks Program (NHL)
/ref> Among the prominent buildings in the district are the Lanier Mansion, one of two buildings separately considered a

National Historic Landmark A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...

in the district, and the Schofield House, the birthplace of the

Grand Lodge of Indiana The Grand Lodge of Free & Accepted Masons of Indiana is one of two statewide organizations that oversee Masonic lodges in the state of Indiana. It was established on January 13, 1818. In 2016 the number of Freemasons in the Grand Lodge of India ...

. In total, it comprises 133

block Block or blocked may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Broadcasting * Block programming, the result of a programming strategy in broadcasting * W242BX, a radio station licensed to Greenville, South Carolina, United States known as ''96.3 ...

s of Madison, Indiana, overlooking the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

Jefferson County, Indiana Jefferson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 33,147. The county seat is Madison. History Jefferson County was formed on February 1, 1811, from Dearborn and Clark Counties. It was named f ...

. Madison's most prominent days were before 1860. It was a major transportation hub, taking river commerce and shipping it to the inland of Indiana. Once transportation routes changed, Madison faltered until the tourism industry saved it more than a century later. Many of the prominent buildings in the district were built by Madison-native-architect

Francis Costigan Francis Costigan (March 4, 1810 – April 18, 1865) was an Indiana architect known primarily for his work in Madison, Indiana and Indianapolis. He worked primarily in the Greek Revival style. Life and work Born in 1810 in Washington, D.C., Costiga ...

, who favored the

Greek Revival Greek Revival architecture is a architectural style, style that began in the middle of the 18th century but which particularly flourished in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, predominantly in northern Europe, the United States, and Canada, ...

style. and Two of these are National Historic Landmarks: the Lanier Mansion, and the Charles L. Shrewsbury House. The Lanier Mansion was the former home of James Lanier, who lent money to governor Oliver P. Morton to run the Indiana state government to circumvent the legislative process between 1862 and 1865. The Shrewsbury-Windle House was built for steamboat captain Charles Shrewsbury, who would later become a mayor of Madison. Costigan, himself, built his home in the district, and it is considered one of the best uses of a narrow lot by modern architects. A thirty-foot parlor is considered the highlight of the House. Also located in the district is the restored 1895 Railroad Depot and the Jefferson County Historical Society museum. When the Madison & Indianapolis Railroad was first built in 1835, Madison was far bigger than the new state capital of

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. The railroad was constructed by Irish laborers.Madisonview
/ref> Broadway Fountain was first displayed at the

1876 Centennial Exposition The Centennial International Exhibition, officially the International Exhibition of Arts, Manufactures, and Products of the Soil and Mine, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876. It was the first official wo ...

, and then presented to Madison in 1884. It was manufactured by an iron foundry owned by

Adrian Janes Adrian Janes (February 4, 1798 – March 2, 1869) was the owner of a significant American iron foundry in the Bronx, New York. The foundry created iron work for many notable projects, including the Capitol Dome of the U.S. Capitol Building in ...

, who is also responsible for manufacturing the dome of the U.S. Capitol Building, The fountain was replaced by a reproduction in 1981. Madison was also a major stop on the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

, with many homes in the area having once been used for assisting the escape of slaves.

Gallery

File:Lanier Mansion North.JPG, Lanier Mansion File:Madison Indiana Depot.JPG, Old Railroad Depot File:Main Street, Madison, IN (48572160547).jpg, Main Street File:Masonic Lodge Building, Madison, IN (48572049517).jpg, Masonic Lodge File:John T. Windle Memorial Auditorium, Madison, IN (48517228177).jpg, Windle Auditorium File:Syracuse Knights of Pythias Lodge, Madison, IN (48572067477).jpg, Syracuse Lodge of the K of P, Madison, IN File:Jeremiah Sullivan House, Madison, IN (48517347837).jpg, Jeremiah Sullivan House File:Shrewsbury-Windle House, Madison, IN (48517181551).jpg, Shrewsbury-Windle House File:Fair Play Fire Company No. 1, Madison, IN (48572111362).jpg, Fair Play Fire Company No. 1 File:Broadway Fountain, Madison, IN (48517131321).jpg, Broadway Fountain

References

{{National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Madison, Indiana National Historic Landmarks in Indiana National Register of Historic Places in Jefferson County, Indiana Underground Railroad in Indiana Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Indiana Underground Railroad locations National Historic Landmark Districts

Gallery

See also

References