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Madison County Population
1820
3,735
1830 4,646
1840
4,510
1850 5,703
1860
5,933
1870 5,227
1880
7,978
1890 11,024
1900 13,224
1910
16,851
1920 18,803
1930 14,921
1940
13,431
1950 12,238
1960 11,264
1970
13,517
1980 17,747
1990 21,050
2000
25,730
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The area which is now Madison County
was originally inhabited by the Creek and Cherokee Indians. By 1773,
most of this land was ceded by the Cherokee Indians to the Colonial
Governor of Georgia, opening the area to frontier settlement. Two
large counties were formed out of this land; Wilkes County in 1777
and Franklin County in 1784. After the American Revolution,
settlers were encouraged to migrate to the new counties by the State’s
Headright Grant system; each settler was granted acreage based on
number of heads (wife, children, and slaves) in his family. Georgia’s
Revolutionary War soldiers were also awarded bounty grants as payment
for their loyal service. Several forts were built in Madison County
-- Hillhouse Forge near Comer, Hillhouse Furnace near Rogers Mill,
Jones Station (later named Fort Lamar), and Black Station near Black’s
Creek and the Hudson River.
Wilkes and Franklin were soon divided
into several smaller counties, and Madison was subsequently formed
in 1811 from 281 square miles of Elbert, Franklin, Clarke, Jackson
and Oglethorpe Counties, becoming Georgia’s 38th county.
The earliest permanent settlement was
in the Paoli area, settled mainly by pioneers from Virginia, Pennsylvania
and the Carolinas. Madison County existed primarily as an agricultural
community for most of its history. In 1860, 84% of the county’s
population farmed. Farmers grew corn, beans and pumpkin at the start
of the 19th century. Eventually the agricultural base of
the county began to diversify and cotton, beef, dairy and oats were
grown. The soils of Madison County were heavily damaged by the cotton
monoculture common in this region prior to the 1930s. Presently,
23% of the land is considered prime agricultural land. Agribusiness
dominates the local economy, with poultry and egg production particularly
important.
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