Madison, Alabama, United States

🇺🇸 Madison is a city located primarily in Madison County, near the northern border of the U.S. state of Alabama. Madison extends west into neighboring Limestone County. The city is included in the Huntsville Metropolitan Area, the second-largest in the state, and is also included in the merged Huntsville-Decatur Combined Statistical Area. Madison is bordered by Huntsville on nearly all sides with some small unincorporated lands within and around Madison in Madison and Limestone counties.

Madison was mostly a small city for many years, with its population being around 400-500 for much of its history until the Redstone Arsenal was established to the south-east, which attracted many people to the area for jobs. This rapidly increased the city's population and stimulated economic growth. Many of Madison's residents work in Research Park or the Redstone Arsenal. Madison has been one of the fastest-growing cities in Alabama, as well as one of the wealthiest in the state. In 2021 census estimates, Madison was the 9th largest city in Alabama and the second largest city in North Alabama trailing only nearby Huntsville.

History The area was occupied historically by the Koasati (also known as Coushatta), a Muskogean-speaking people. Before them were thousands of years of indigenous cultures.

Madison's first European-American resident was John Cartwright, who settled in the area in 1818. The city was originally known as "Madison Station", as it developed in the 1850s around a stop of the Memphis & Charleston Railroad. Textile mills were built in the area in the late 19th century for processing and manufacture of cotton products.

Madison was the site of a battle in the American Civil War. On May 17, 1864, Col. Josiah Patterson's 5th Alabama Cavalry, supported by Col. James H. Stuart's cavalry battalion and a section of horse artillery, drove Col. Adam G. Gorgas's 13th Illinois Infantry Regiment from the city. Patterson's men captured the 13th Illinois Regiment's wagon train, taking 66 prisoners. They also burned Union supplies and tore up the railroad tracks before retreating. Portions of the 5th Ohio Cavalry, the 59th Indiana Infantry, and the 5th Iowa Infantry were sent in pursuit from Huntsville. They skirmished with Patterson's rear guard that evening at Fletcher's Ferry on the Tennessee River south of Madison.

The town was incorporated in 1869. From 1880 to 1950, rural Madison had a population of some 400-500 residents.

In the World War II and postwar period, military and NASA operations were moved to Huntsville, stimulating an increase in population in the region. Subsidized highways stimulated suburbanization, attracting residents to outlying areas where new homes were built. By 1980, Madison's population was 4,057. In the late 20th century, Madison's population increased rapidly as it developed as a suburb of Huntsville. In 1986, Madison voters overwhelmingly voted to remain independent by not merging with Huntsville.

Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 30.5 square miles (79.0 km²), of which 30.3 square miles (78.6 km²) are land and 0.1 square miles (0.3 km²), or 0.43%, are water.

Madison is located primarily within Madison County, while extending west into Limestone County. Downtown Huntsville is 11 miles (18 km) east of the centre of Madison, although Huntsville also borders Madison to the south and west. Athens is 17 miles (27 km) to the north-west, and Decatur is 16 miles (26 km) to the south-west, across the Tennessee River.

Economy: Industry Madison's largest employer is Intergraph, a computer software company. It is a subsidiary of Hexagon, a Swedish software company that bought Intergraph in 2008 and invested in the city and area to improve it. Currently, they are working on a streetlight maintenance program for Madison. Thousands of Madison residents commute to jobs at Cummings Research Park and Redstone Arsenal in nearby Huntsville, about 12 miles away. The high-tech and academic positions in the area have attracted numerous highly educated, professional residents.

Education The Madison City School System, formed in 1998, serves over 10,000 students from the city of Madison and town of Triana. It has consistently been rated as one of the best school systems in the state. The current superintendent is Dr. Ed Nichols. Nationally, it ranks in the top 5 best school systems.

As of 2012, the school system has seven elementary schools serving grades K-5 (Columbia Elementary School, Heritage Elementary School, Horizon Elementary School, Madison Elementary School, Mill Creek Elementary School, Rainbow Elementary School, and Midtown Elementary School), two middle schools serving grades 6-8 (Discovery Middle School, Liberty Middle School), and two high schools serving grades 9-12 (Bob Jones High School and James Clemens High School). There was formerly an additional elementary school, West Madison Elementary; however, it is permanently closed and planned to be adapted as a pre-K center. Madison Elementary, built about 1936, is the oldest school in the system.

In 2019, Madison residents approved a voluntary property tax increase in order to fund school growth and expansion. These funds were used to build Midtown Elementary School (completed in 2020) and were also used to construct Journey Middle School, opening for the 2023-2024 school year.

Media The Madison Record and the Madison County Record have been newspapers for the city since 1967. The Madison Weekly News was another local newspaper.

Transport: Road Madison is served by Interstate 565, US 72 (University Drive), and Madison Boulevard (Alabama State Route 20, and Alt. US 72) and Gillespie Road, as main routes for east–west traffic. Slaughter Road, Hughes Road, Wall Triana Highway, and County Line Road serve as main north–south roads in the city.

Rail and airline The Norfolk Southern railway has the main line and a spur running through Madison. The Port of Huntsville, an intermodal centre that includes Huntsville International Airport and a rail cargo centre, is located just south of the city.

Sport The Rocket City Trash Pandas (formerly Mobile BayBears) is a Double A Southern League affiliate of the Los Angeles Angels that moved from Mobile, Alabama to Madison. The team was to begin play in Madison at Toyota Field beginning in April 2020, but coronavirus concerns delayed the team's debut until May 11, 2021.

Parks and greenways The City of Madison has several greenways and parks within city limits.

Madison is working with the nearby cities of Huntsville and Decatur to create a 70-mile bicycling and walking trail.