Madison County, Florida

Madison County, Florida
Madison County Courthouse
Map of Florida highlighting Madison County
Location in the U.S. state of Florida
Map of the United States highlighting Florida
Florida's location in the U.S.
Founded December 26, 1827
Named for James Madison
Seat Madison
Largest city Madison
Area
 • Total 716 sq mi (1,854 km2)
 • Land 696 sq mi (1,803 km2)
 • Water 220 sq mi (570 km2), 2.8%
Population (est.)
 • (2017) 18,449[1]
 • Density 26.5/sq mi (10.2/km2)
Congressional district 5th
Time zone Eastern: UTC−5/−4
Website www.madisoncountyfl.com

Madison County is a county located in the state of Florida, in the center of its northern border with Georgia. As of the 2010 census, the population was 19,224.[2] Its county seat is also called Madison.[3] As of August 28, 2012, Madison became a wet county, meaning that voters had approved the legal sale, possession, or distribution of alcoholic beverages.[4]

History

Located in what is known as the Florida Panhandle, Madison County was created in 1827.[5] It was named for James Madison, fourth President of the United States of America, who served from 1809 to 1817.[6] It was developed as part of the plantation belt, with cotton cultivated and processed by enslaved African Americans.[7]

In the period after Reconstruction, racial violence rose in the state, reaching a peak at the end of the 19th century. According to the Equal Justice Institute's 2015 report, Lynching in America: Confronting Racial Terror, from 1877-1950, Madison County had 16 lynchings in this period, the 6th highest of any county in the state.[8] The county's economic and population growth was stagnant from the 1880s and for several decades into the early 20th century.[7]

In 1945, the county's population of 15,537 was divided evenly between black and white.[7] The last known lynching in the county was that in October 1945 of Jesse James Payne, a young married sharecropper with a child. He had been charged with sexual abuse of a young girl, but was innocent; the precipitating incident was a disagreement with the white landowner where he was sharecropping. The sheriff and others appeared implicated in his shooting death, as he was left in jail unguarded after mob action had been threatened. His was the only recorded lynching nationwide of that year, when World War II ended. The case received national attention and the governor was strongly criticized for failure to mount a true investigation or to take action against the sheriff.[7]

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 716 square miles (1,850 km2), of which 696 square miles (1,800 km2) is land and 20 square miles (52 km2) (2.8%) is water.[9]

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.%±
1830525—
18402,644403.6%
18505,490107.6%
18607,77941.7%
187011,12143.0%
188014,79833.1%
189014,316−3.3%
190015,4467.9%
191016,9199.5%
192016,516−2.4%
193015,614−5.5%
194016,1903.7%
195014,197−12.3%
196014,154−0.3%
197013,481−4.8%
198014,89410.5%
199016,56911.2%
200018,73313.1%
201019,2242.6%
Est. 201718,449[10]−4.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[11]
1790-1960[12] 1900-1990[13]
1990-2000[14] 2010-2015[2]

As of the census[15] of 2000, there were 18,733 people, 6,629 households, and 4,680 families residing in the county. The population density was 27 people per square mile (10/km²). There were 7,836 housing units at an average density of 11 per square mile (4/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 57.49% Caucasian, 40.30% Black or African American, 0.32% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.51% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. 3.20% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 6,629 households out of which 31.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.90% were married couples living together, 17.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.40% were non-families. 25.40% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the county, the population was spread out with 25.30% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 28.20% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 107.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 106.80 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $26,533, and the median income for a family was $31,753. Males had a median income of $25,255 versus $19,607 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,511. About 18.90% of families and 23.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.10% of those under age 18 and 22.50% of those age 65 or over.

Transportation

Major highways

  • Interstate 10 is the main interstate highway through Madison County, running west and east through the panhandle from Alabama to Jacksonville. Four interchanges exist in the county at US 221 south of Greenville, (Exit 241), SR 14 (Exit 251) and SR 53 (Exit 258) south of Madison, and CR 255 south of Lee (Exit 262).
  • US 19/27 is a multiplexed pair of south-to-north US highways in the southwestern corner of the county known as the Florida-Georgia Parkway.
  • US 90 was the main west-to-east route through Madison County until it was supplanted by I-10.
  • US 221 is the main south-to-north US highway in western Madison County.
  • State Road 6 runs northeast from US 90 into Jasper in Hamilton County east of Madison.
  • State Road 14 is a short state road from I-10 to US 90 in Madison, with a western county extension in Taylor and Madison Counties, and a truck route to SR 53 (see below)
  • State Road 53
  • State Road 145

Railroads

Madison County has at least two railroad lines. The primary one is a CSX line formerly owned by the Seaboard Air Line Railroad; it served Amtrak's Sunset Limited until it was truncated to New Orleans in 2005 by Hurricane Katrina. The station was Madison County's only active passenger railroad station until that point. The other line is owned by the Georgia and Florida Railway, and runs in close proximity to US 221 throughout Madison County.

Education

Madison County Schools headquarters

Madison County Schools operates public schools. Madison County High School is one of the two high schools in Madison, the other is a charter high school, James Madison Preparatory High School.

Libraries

Madison County is served by the Suwannee River Regional Library System, which contains eight branches and also serves Hamilton and Suwannee counties.

  • Branford
  • Greenville
  • Jasper
  • Jennings
  • Lee
  • Live Oak
  • Madison
  • White Springs

Communities

Hanson on State Road 145
Pinetta on State Road 145

City

Towns

Unincorporated communities

  • Cherry Lake
  • Hamburg
  • Hanson
  • Hopewell
  • Lamont
  • Lovett
  • Pinetta
  • Sirmans

Politics

Since the late 20th century, most white conservatives have shifted from the Democratic to the Republican Party, which is reflected in county voting in presidential elections. African Americans have generally supported Democratic presidential candidates in that period, since the national party supported their regaining the power to exercise their constitutional right and vote.

Presidential elections results
Madison County vote
by party in presidential elections[16]
Year GOP DEM Others
2016 56.80% 4,851 41.29% 3,526 1.91% 163
2012 51.27% 4,474 47.85% 4,176 0.88% 77
2008 51.02% 4,544 47.94% 4,270 1.04% 93
2004 50.47% 4,191 48.77% 4,050 0.76% 63
2000 49.29% 3,038 48.92% 3,015 1.79% 110
1996 39.29% 2,195 50.01% 2,794 10.71% 598
1992 34.38% 2,007 45.36% 2,648 20.26% 1,183
1988 56.59% 2,563 43.08% 1,951 0.33% 15
1984 57.30% 2,819 42.70% 2,101
1980 41.39% 2,280 56.89% 3,134 1.72% 95
1976 34.94% 1,761 63.85% 3,218 1.21% 61
1972 72.92% 3,236 26.75% 1,187 0.34% 15
1968 13.81% 654 29.10% 1,378 57.09% 2,703
1964 57.09% 2,822 42.91% 2,121
1960 35.60% 1,152 64.40% 2,084
1956 33.01% 1,017 66.99% 2,064
1952 42.66% 1,209 57.34% 1,625
1948 9.00% 207 51.70% 1,189 39.30% 904
1944 13.28% 293 86.72% 1,914
1940 15.38% 440 84.62% 2,421
1936 7.47% 184 92.53% 2,278
1932 12.12% 221 87.88% 1,602
1928 25.70% 266 74.30% 769
1924 3.88% 23 90.73% 538 5.40% 32
1920 3.04% 30 93.31% 920 3.65% 36
1916 2.74% 22 89.79% 721 7.47% 60
1912 2.92% 16 87.59% 480 9.48% 52
1908 5.38% 32 85.88% 511 8.74% 52
1904 9.73% 66 87.76% 595 2.51% 17

Notable residents

The small town of Greenville was the childhood home of rhythm and blues giant Ray Charles. Also from Madison County are professional baseball player Lorenzo Cain and professional football player Chris Thompson.

See also

References

  1. ↑ https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/madisoncountyflorida/PST045217
  2. 1 2 "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved February 14, 2014.
  3. ↑ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved 2011-06-07.
  4. ↑
  5. ↑ Publications of the Florida Historical Society. Florida Historical Society. 1908. p. 32.
  6. ↑ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. U.S. Government Printing Office. p. 196.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Jack E. Davis, " 'Whitewash' in Florida: The Lynching of Jesse James Payne and Its Aftermath", The Florida Historical Quarterly Vol. 68, No. 3 (Jan., 1990), pp. 277-298; accessed 19 March 2018
  8. ↑ [https://eji.org/sites/default/files/lynching-in-america-second-edition-supplement-by-county.pdf Lynching in America: Supplement: Lynchings by County, Equal Justice Institute, 2015; accessed 19 March 2018, p. 3
  9. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. Retrieved 2011-04-23.
  10. ↑ "Population and Housing Unit Estimates". Retrieved June 9, 2017.
  11. ↑ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  12. ↑ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  14. ↑ "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Retrieved June 15, 2014.
  15. ↑ "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved 2011-05-14.
  16. ↑ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved 2018-06-15.

Government links/Constitutional offices

Special districts

Judicial branch

Coordinates: 30°27′N 83°28′W / 30.45°N 83.47°W / 30.45; -83.47

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