HottyToddy Hometown: Madison, Mississippi

Photo taken from http://www.madisonthecity.com/

Madison, Mississippi, named for James Madison, the fourth President of the United States, grew up along a bustling railroad track in pre-Civil War Mississippi.

It was 1856 when the Illinois Central Railroad opened its Madison Station, the forerunner of today’s City of Madison. Although near-by Madisonville, a settlement established along the stagecoach route of the Natchez Trace, boasted a race tack, two banks, a wagon factory and at least one hotel, its residents could not resist the lure of the future. The newly established railroad community began to thrive, and Madisonville soon became extinct.

Like many railroad towns in the South, Madison Station fell victim to the Civil War. Just 10 miles from the state capital, Jackson, it was largely destroyed after the July 18-22, 1861 siege of Jackson. Although no battles were waged on Madison soil, Major General S.D. Lee, who ordered the first shot of the Civil War, concentrated his command in Madison Station during the month of February 1864. General Lee was later to become the first President of Mississippi A&M, now Mississippi State University. The railroad continued to serve as a magnet for business growth after the Civil War. In 1897, the Madison Land Company encouraged our northern neighbors to “Go South, and grow up with the country.” Located in Chicago on the Illinois Central Railroad line, the Land Company’s interest in development prompted Madison to incorporate as a village, although the charter was later lost when regular elections were not held due to the failure of the “land boom”.

The Land Company offered prime land for as little as $3.00 an acre. The company boasted that Mississippi had the lowest debt ratio in the nation at $19.00 per capita and that Mississippians were declared one third healthier by “official figures” than people in New York and Massachusetts. These figures were quoted with confidence in the Madison Land Company brochure by Bishop Hugh Miller Thompson, the Second Episcopal Bishop of the Diocese of Mississippi and a Madison resident, who hailed originally from the Wisconsin heartland.

Demographic Information

City-Data.com has collected and analyzed data from numerous sources to create complete and interesting profiles of all U.S. cities, including Madison…more

Certified Retirement Community

Madison offers its residents a unique suburban hometown. The town is a planned community giving priority to safety, comfort and a small-town atmosphere…more

Residential

The City of Madison has always put the needs of its citizens first. For more information on the residential life of Madison please visit the Madison Organization of Neighborhood Associations (MONA) site below. There you will find information on all of our residential subdivisions.

Madison The City Chamber of Commerce

Madison The City Chamber of Commerce is one of the most dynamic Chambers in Mississippi, representing more than 800 businesses in the metro Jackson area. We are proud to support a group of visionary business people who are leading the way to our city’s continual growth and progress…more

Sister City Solleftea, Sweden

Madison officials first explored the possibility of creating a sister city relationship with Solleftea, Sweden in 1995. The idea grew out of a meeting between Madison County economic development representatives and executives representing the Solleftea-based forestry products company, Haglof, Inc., who were investigating the feasibility of opening a plant in Madison.

Talks began, and a January 1997 video conference call between the two cities facilitated the meeting. Five months later, a delegation of over 30 members arrived in Madison to tour the city and to ratify the sister city relationship. During that visit, Haglof Inc. opened its new office and the Swedish company Mini Tube also announced plans to locate a facility in Madison.

A 34-member delegation from Madison flew to Sweden in May 1997 for a five-day tour of Solleftea. They were interested in learning about Solleftea’s economic development efforts, cultural facilities, innovations in education and ability to attract visitors and businesses to the area. The delegation toured industrial sites, such as Haglof Inc.’s facilities, an energy plant and a communications company. They also visited a forestry school and environmental center.

The Sister City Committee continues to work on business development issues between Mississippi and Sweden.