History of Madison County Florida Florida genealogy

Madison County Florida was named in 1827 in honor of James Madison, fourth President of the United States. At the time Madison County was chartered it was billed as Florida's largest county. This took place long before Florida was admitted to the Union, in 1845. Since then, the county has been divided and the following were created from Madison County: Taylor, Lafayette and Dixie Counties. Madison County was a major hub on the migration southward of our ancestors from Alabama, Georgia, North and South Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky, Virginia and all points northward. Many descendants of Florida's hardy pioneers find their ancestor probably tarried for a year or two in Madison County, before heading southward.

 

 

 

Something scenic





The photo is a picture post card of Downtown Madison circa 1930, from the Madison Collection at the Florida Memory Project

 

 

 

 

The city of Madison is the county seat. Cotton planters settled the town of Madison in 1838, though there were residents here before that. The county was established in 1827 and by 1850 the county population had grown to more than 5,000 people.

The world's largest long staple cotton gin was located in Madison before the boll weevil arrived in 1916, and wiped out the cotton industry. In the south, cotton truly was king, it is how most families made a living. The cotton years memories are preserved in a small park near the Amtrak railroad station in the south side of town. In the park is a 16-foot drive wheel for a 500 horse power engine that once pulled 65 gins in what was said to be the world's largest cotton processing plant.

The oldest house in town, still occupied, was built in 1849 and a small wooden Episcopal church, built in 1843, is still in use. In the center of Madison is the Wardlaw-Smith-Goza house, a stately mansion that dates from 1860 and served as a Confederate hospital during the War between the States.

This county website is available for Available! adoption! To adopt this site, please go to FLGenWeb Project's Adopt a County Page. 

 

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Neighboring Counties

Hamilton County, Florida
East, County Seat: Jasper

Jefferson County, Florida
West, County Seat: Monticello

Lafayette County, Florida
Southeast, County Seat: Mayo

Suwannee County Florida
Southeast, County Seat: Live Oak

Taylor County, Florida
Southwest, County Seat: Perry

Brooks County Georgia
North, County Seat: Quitman

Lowndes County, Georgia
Northeast, County Seat: Valdosta

 

State Coordinator: Denise Wells

Assistant State Coordinator: Jeff Kemp

County Coordinator: Available for Adoption!