The city of Madison, named for James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, developed along a bustling railroad track in antebellum Mississippi. It began in 1856 when the Illinois Central Railroad opened Madison Station, the forerunner of the city of Madison.[4]
The nearby town of Madisonville was a settlement along the stagecoach route on the Natchez Trace. It was the first county seat of Madison County in 1828,[5] and had a race track, two banks, a wagon factory, and at least one hotel. Its residents gradually moved to the new railroad community, and old Madisonville became defunct.
Like many railroad towns in the South, Madison Station was heavily damaged by the Union Army during the Civil War. Ten miles from the state capital of Jackson, Madison Station was largely destroyed in 1863 after the July 18–22 siege of Jackson. No battles were fought in Madison County, but Major General Stephen D. Lee concentrated his command in Madison Station during the month of February 1864. Stephen Lee was later appointed as the first president of Mississippi State College (now Mississippi State University).[4]
The railroad continued to attract growth after the Civil War. In 1897, the Madison Land Company encouraged northerners to "Go South, and grow up with the country." Located in Chicago, the land company's interest in development prompted Madison to incorporate as a village, though the charter was lost when regular elections were not held because of the failure of the "land boom".[4]
The Madison Land Company offered prime land for as little as $3.00 an acre. It claimed that Mississippi had the lowest debt ratio in the United States at $19.00 per capita and that Mississippians were one-third healthier by "official figures" than people in New York and Massachusetts. The figures were quoted in the Madison Land Company's brochure by Bishop Hugh Miller Thompson, the second Episcopal bishop of the Diocese of Mississippi and a Madison resident, who originally came from Wisconsin.[4]
After many years of court battles, the city annexed other territory to expand its limits in size in the late 2000s.
On November 24, 2001, a violent F4 tornado impacted western portions of the city. Many homes were severely damaged or destroyed, including some that were leveled and swept from their foundations in the Fairfield subdivision. The tornado traveled 11.5 miles (18.5 km) across Madison County, damaging or destroying 164 homes along the path. Two people were killed by the tornado, and 21 others were injured.[6][7]
Geography
Madison is in southern Madison County and is bordered to the south by the city of Ridgeland. The city of Gluckstadt is 5 miles (8 km) to the north. Interstate 55 passes through the city, with access from Exit 107 (Madison Avenue) and Exit 108 (Hwy 463). U.S. Route 51 passes through the city center, now within the eastern part of the city limits as expansion has occurred to the west. The Natchez Trace Parkway runs along the eastern border of the city.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Madison has a total area of 26.4 square miles (68 km2), of which 25.2 square miles (65 km2) are land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km2), or 4.47%, are water.[1] The east side of the city drains to the Ross Barnett Reservoir on the Pearl River, while the northern part drains to Bear Creek, a tributary of the Big Black River, and the western part drains to Limekiln Creek, a tributary of Bogue Chitto Creek, which also flows to the Big Black.
As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 27,747 people, 8,972 households, and 7,121 families residing in the city.
2000 census
As of the census[10] of 2000, there were 14,692 people, 5,189 households, and 4,249 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,090.0 inhabitants per square mile (420.9/km2). There were 5,316 housing units at an average density of 394.4 per square mile (152.3/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 93.23% White, 4.89% African American, 0.07% Native American, 1.20% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.18% from other races, and 0.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.69% of the population.
There were 5,189 households, out of which 48.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 73.0% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 18.1% were non-families. 16.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 5.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.81 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 31.2% under the age of 18, 4.1% from 18 to 24, 35.1% from 25 to 44, 21.1% from 45 to 64, and 8.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $71,266 (estimated at $105,485 in 2008), and the median income for a family was $77,202. Males had a median income of $54,358 versus $34,081 for females. The per capita income for the city was $29,082. About 2.1% of families and 2.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 3.5% of those under age 18 and 1.4% of those age 65 or over.
Recreation
Strawberry Patch Park, one mile running trail, playground, and children's fishing pond
In 2010, Tulane University opened a satellite campus of its School of Continuing Studies. The campus was housed in a renovated wing of the former Madison Station Elementary School (Madison Ridgeland High School) campus until it closed in 2017.[12][13]Jackson State University has also opened a satellite campus in the city.[citation needed]
