Madison’s post office opened in 1950, and 7 of its places are on the National Register
More historic than 17% of U.S. towns · #78 of 100 in Mississippi. What drives it
Most of Madison was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1997. 7 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 3 buildings. Below: maps from 1905 on and the census since 1950.
The Madison post office opened in 1950, the earliest record of the town by name. Wikidata gives 1988. Two smaller post offices, Midway (1843) and Madison Station (1860), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 540 in 19502020 census: 27,74776 years
How historic is Madison?
C−
More historic than 17% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Madison post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Wikidata: 1988.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 17% of U.S. towns, #78 of 100 in Mississippi. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
C−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Madison’s overall grade.
Mississippi towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Mississippi town has 71.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Madison’s 4.7 sits near the middle of its state (48% of Mississippi towns have fewer) while its 13 historic buildings outnumber those of 77% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from D− to C. The pre-1940 share (±1.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date; Wikidata’s 1988 falls in the same era, so the grade doesn’t depend on which one is used.
Founding year: the first post office (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.
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.
Madison is the point of termination of the Madison and Lafayette rail road, which is in such forwardness as to induce the belief that no delay will be permitted to take place until it is ready for the car. This road is to extend, as by its title is implied, from Madison, to Lafayette, on the Wabash river, the seat of justice of Tippecanoe county, bisecting Indiana in a southeasterly and northwesterly direction, passing through Indianapo-
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.
Timeline
Madison, 1843 to 1997
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
The Madison post office opened in 1950, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records). Wikidata gives 1988.
How does Madison rank for history?
Madison is more historic than 17% of U.S. towns, #78 of 100 in Mississippi. 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?
7 listings: 6 buildings, among them the Montgomery House (listed 1984, the first), and 1 historic district, the Dorroh Street Historic District, with 3 contributing buildings. 13 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Madison?
2% of Madison’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±1.7 points), against a typical 4.5% for a Mississippi town; the median home was built in 1997.
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 (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (7), 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.
2009
2009
2006
2006
2006
