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Madison, Mississippi
Official seal of Madison, Mississippi
Seal
Nickname(s): 
"The Brick City"
Location of Madison, Mississippi
Location of Madison, Mississippi
Madison, Mississippi is located in the United States
Madison, Mississippi
Madison, Mississippi
Location in the United States
Country United States
State Mississippi
County Madison
Government
 • Type Municipality
Area
 • Total 26.43 sq mi (68.45 km2)
 • Land 25.25 sq mi (65.39 km2)
 • Water 1.18 sq mi (3.06 km2)
Elevation
338 ft (103 m)
Population
 (2010)
 • Total 24,149
 • Estimate 
(2019)
25,661
 • Density 1,016.32/sq mi (392.40/km2)
Time zone UTC−6 (Central (CST))
 • Summer (DST) UTC−5 (CDT)
ZIP codes
39110, 39130
Area code(s) 601
FIPS code 28-44520
GNIS feature ID 0673053
Website madisonthecity.com

Madison is a city in Madison County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 24,841 at the 2010 census. The population is currently over 25,000. It is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

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.

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, 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).

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".

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.

After many years of court battles, the city annexed other territory to expand its limits in size in the late 2000s.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.7 square miles (35 km2), of which 13.5 square miles (35 km2) is land and 0.2 square miles (0.52 km2) (1.61%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census Pop.
1950 540
1960 703 30.2%
1970 853 21.3%
1980 2,241 162.7%
1990 7,471 233.4%
2000 14,692 96.7%
2010 24,149 64.4%
2019 (est.) 25,661 6.3%
U.S. Decennial Census
Strawberry Patch Park 2009
Strawberry Patch Park in Madison, Mississippi

2020 census

Madison Racial Composition
Race Num. Perc.
White 21,809 78.6%
Black or African American 3,235 11.66%
Native American 27 0.1%
Asian 1,336 4.81%
Pacific Islander 6 0.02%
Other/Mixed 768 2.77%
Hispanic or Latino 566 2.04%

As of the 2020 United States Census, there were 27,747 people, 8,972 households, and 7,121 families residing in the city.

Recreation

  • Strawberry Patch Park, one mile running trail, playground, and children's fishing pond
  • Liberty Park, sports fields and playgrounds
  • Simmons Arboretum, wooded trail

Transportation

There is one small airport in the city, Bruce Campbell Field.

Points of interest

Sister city

Madison officials first explored the possibility of creating a sister city relationship with Sollefteå, Sweden in 1995. Madison County economic development representatives had met with executives representing the Sollefteå-based forestry products company, Haglof, Inc. The latter were investigating opening a plant in Madison. They were interested to learn of local residents of Swedish descent; names such as Lindquist are common in the Greater Madison area.

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, Haglöf, 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 Sollefteå. They learned about the Swedish city'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 Haglöf Inc.’s facilities, an energy plant, and a communications company. They also visited a forestry school and environmental center.

The Swedish-American Chamber of Commerce South Central U.S. was founded in 1997 as a result of this trade relationship. It serves Mississippi, Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee.


Education

The City of Madison is served by the Madison County School District. The Student/TeacherRatio is 19:1.

Madison-Ridgeland Academy is a 6A private high school and member of the MSAIS located in Madison.

St. Joseph Catholic School is a parochial school located in Madison that serves the Jackson Area; it is of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Jackson.

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.Jackson State University has also opened a satellite campus in the city.

Notable people

  • Eddie Briggs, lawyer and former Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi.
  • Tate Ellington, actor.
  • Stephen Gostkowski, professional football player for the Tennessee Titans.
  • John Henry Rogers, United States Congressman from Arkansas and a federal judge.
  • Ruston Webster, NFL scout for the Atlanta Falcons.
  • Corey Dickerson, professional baseball player for the Miami Marlins. He resides here during the offseason.

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Madison (Misisipi) para niños

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