Madison

History

Madison was laid out and platted in 1810, and the first lots were sold in 1811 by John Paul. It had busy early years due to heavy river traffic and its position as an entry point into the Indiana Territory along the historic Old Michigan Road. Madison's location across the Ohio River from Kentucky, a slave state, made it an important location on the Underground Railroad, which worked to free fugitive slaves. George DeBaptiste's barbershop in town became a nerve center of the local group. By 1850, Madison was the third-largest city in Indiana (after New Albany and Indianapolis), and among the 100 largest cities in the U.S. Indiana's first railroad, the Madison & Indianapolis Railroad, was built there from 1836 to 1847. Chartered in 1832 by the Indiana State Legislature as the Madison Indianapolis & Lafayette Railroad, and construction begun September 16, 1836, the railroad was transferred to private ownership on January 31, 1843, as the Madison & Indianapolis Railroad. Successful for more than a decade, the railroad went into decline and was sold at foreclosure in 1862, renamed the Indianapolis & Madison Railroad, and after a series of corporate transfers, became part of the massive Pennsylvania Railroad system in 1921. In March 1924, the Madison Area Chamber of Commerce was founded to aid area business growth and development. Conrail much later bought Pennsylvania Railroad, but the deal left out a stretch of track from North Vernon to Madison. Madison Port Authority purchased this, forming Madison Railroad in 1975. Madison's days as a leading Indiana city were numbered, however, when river traffic declined and new railroads built between Louisville, Indianapolis, and Cincinnati tapped into Madison's trade network. As a result, Madison's growth did not continue at…

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Madison Consolidated High School
  High · Madison · 847 students · 16.9:1 ratio
• Madison Consolidated Jr High Sch
  Middle · Madison · 743 students · 16.2:1 ratio
• Southwestern Elementary School
  Elementary · Hanover · 641 students · 17.3:1 ratio
• Anderson Elementary School
  Elementary · Madison · 457 students · 20.8:1 ratio
• Southwestern High School
  High · Hanover · 361 students · 12:1 ratio
• Lydia Middleton Elementary School
  Elementary · Madison · 335 students · 19.7:1 ratio
• Southwestern Middle School
  Middle · Hanover · 275 students · 12:1 ratio
• Rykers' Ridge Elementary School
  Elementary · Madison · 211 students · 19.2:1 ratio