The story
Read it all →How Madison came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Madison.
Madison was founded in 1820. There have been three villages named Madison.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B+History
History · Madison
Madison dates to 1820, and 27% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns · #271 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
Its Register listing is the Chain of Rocks Bridge. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1933 on, and the census since 1900.
1820founded
1on the National Register
27%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
11famous people
Quick answers
How Madison began
When was Madison founded?
1820
Madison dates its founding to 1820 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1900.
First census: 1,979 in 19002020 census: 3,171206 years
How historic is Madison?
B+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1815.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Madison’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Madison is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #271 of 768 in Illinois. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its National Register listings pull it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Madison’s overall grade.
Founding era1820, from Wikipedia: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194026.8% of homes (±6.9) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%A−National RegisterNo listings counted · typical IL town 0.5 per 10,000 · U.S. 2.4C
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 68%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 65%
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Madison’s 0.0 sits below most of its state (28% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B− to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±6.9 points). Two sources give 1820.
Founding year: Wikipedia (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Madison’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Boom and bustPeaked at 7,963 in 1950; 3,171 people lived here in 2020.Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Madison, and 3 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1820: 206 years of Madison.Famous sons and daughtersDonnie Freeman, Maurice Baker and 9 more were born here.
★ What stands out · People over time
Madison, census by census
Peaked at 7,963 in 1950; 3,171 people lived here in 2020.
13 censuses, 1900–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Madison’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Madison’s post office has been open since 1841. Another post office, Madison Courthouse, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Madison Courthouse
Madison
18101920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Eagle ParkMadison StationNewport
Gone or out of use
Atkins SchoolschoolKGLD-AM (St Louis)towerLouis Baer Public SchoolschoolMadison Junior High Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Madison
Brooklyn
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Madison, 1815 to 1994
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1815Post officeThe Madison Courthouse post office opens
- 1820FoundingMadison is established
- 1822Post officeThe Madison Courthouse post office closes
- 1841Post officeThe Madison post office opens
- 1869
Born hereCharles Willis Lane is born here - 20th century
- 1900
In the archiveSmrdesh teatrical group - 1917
In the archiveIndustries of War - Asphalt (Including Roofing) - ROOFING FOR GOVERNMENT USE. Genasco str… - 1933
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1944
Born hereDonnie Freeman is born here - 1950CensusPopulation peaks at 7,963
- 1979Born hereMaurice Baker is born here
- 1994
Born hereVincent Valentine is born here
From the old history books
What they wrote about Madison, 1866–1874
Passages that mention Madison, cut from the printed page as they were published.
A history of Madison, the capital of Wisconsin1874 · page 74Read the page →
Read the text
establishment. But the old building finally went down as the ‘‘ Madison Hotel,” and by that name it will ever be known in the history of Madison. At 12 o’clock, March, 17, 1863, the Madison Hotel was the oldest building standing in the city of Madison. Peace to its ashes.” .
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
A history of Madison, the capital of Wisconsin1874 · page 216Read the page →
Read the text
of the particulars of this article have been obtained, while the other delighted with this captivating section of the West, as soon as he reached the maturity of manhood, returned and settled in Madison, and is now the presiding officer under the charter of incorporation, granted to the town of Madison at the last session of the Wisconsin Legislature.* *Thos. W. Sutherland.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Gazetteer of Madison County1866 · page 269Read the page →
Read the text
Mr. Gillespie held a seat in the Senate at least twelve years; first from Madison County alone; then from Madison and Clinton, and finally from Madison, Bond and Montgomery, 1859 — Samuel A. Buckm aster, from Madison, Bond and Montgomery; 1865— A. W. Metcalf, from Madison and St. Clair.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
By decade
Madison, decade by decade
2 decades in the archive, from the 1900s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1900s–1910s6 items
1900Smrdesh teatrical group1917Industries of War - Asphalt (Including Roofing) - ROO…
1917Industries of War - Asphalt (Including Roofing) - ROO…
1917Industries of War - Asphalt (Including Roofing) - ROO…
1917Industries of War - Asphalt (Including Roofing) - ROO…
1917Industries of War - Asphalt (Including Roofing) - ROO…1920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your albumOn the map
Madison on the map, 1933 to 1993
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Madison. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1933Granite City sheet · 1:24,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Madison.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this viewSmrdesh teatrical group, 1900
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Madison’s page.
Retake this view · +15On the National Register
1 historic place in Madison
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
0
each building in a district counts
first listed
2006
Chain of Rocks Bridge
Structures
Architectural styles listings
Warrant Truss1
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Famous people
See all →11 famous people were born in Madison
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Help out
Finish Madison’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
2 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Stories next door
History across the town line
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
Granite City2 historic placesB+Granite City Township2 historic placesnot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townFairmont CityIts storyCVeniceIts storyBVenice Township1 historic placeANameoki TownshipIts storyC−BrooklynIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townPontoon BeachIts storyD−HartfordIts storyC
Questions about Madison’s history
What year was Madison founded?
In 1820, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Madison’s post office opened in 1815, and the census of 1900 counted 1,979 people here.
How does Madison rank for history?
Madison is more historic than 68% of U.S. towns, #271 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Madison?
One place: the Chain of Rocks Bridge (listed 2006).
How old are the homes in Madison?
27% of Madison’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±6.9 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1960.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (6), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.