Editing Madison, Alabama (section)

==History==
[[File:Madison,AL Southern RR Depot.jpg|thumb|left|Southern Railroad Depot, Madison]]

The area was occupied historically by the [[Koasati]] (also known as Coushatta), a [[Muskogean languages|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 Army|Union]] supplies and tore up the railroad tracks before retreating. Portions of the [[5th Ohio Cavalry]], the [[59th Indiana Infantry Regiment|59th Indiana Infantry]], and the [[5th Iowa Infantry Regiment|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 on December 2, 1869.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.encyclopediaofalabama.org/article/h-3140 |title=Madison |website=Encyclopedia of Alabama |language=en |access-date=September 28, 2017}}</ref> From 1880 to 1950, rural Madison had a population of some 400-500 residents.

In [[World War II]] and the postwar period, military and [[NASA]] operations were moved to [[Huntsville, Alabama|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.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Peck |first1=John |date=July 31, 2011 |title=Huntsville annexations hem in Madison but both cities need to remain neighborly (editorial) |url=https://www.al.com/times-views/2011/07/huntsville_annexations_hem_in.html |access-date=July 23, 2020 |website=al |publisher=The Huntsville Times |language=en}}</ref> By 2010, its population had grown to 42,938, and over the following ten years it grew to a population of 56,933.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Huntsville only steadily growing large city in Alabama {{!}} John Blue Realty |url=https://www.johnbluerealty.com/huntsville-only-steadily-growing-large-city-in-alabama/ |access-date=January 26, 2021 |website=johnbluerealty.com}}</ref>