Editing Madison County, Georgia (section)

==History==
Madison County was organized by an act of the General Assembly of Georgia on December 11, 1811. It was named for [[James Madison]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Gannett|first=Henry|title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ|year=1905|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n195 196]}}</ref> who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. It was the 38th county formed in Georgia, and began to function as a county in 1812. Madison County was formed from the counties of Clarke, Elbert, Franklin, Jackson, Oglethorpe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://files.usgwarchives.net/ga/madison/history/hist1938.txt|title=MADISON COUNTY, GEORGIA - 1938|last=Berryman|first=Mary Love|date=November 29, 2002|website=USGenWeb Archives|access-date=March 21, 2018}}</ref>

Early agriculture in Madison County was devoted to food crops and livestock ([[cattle]], [[Pig|hogs]], and [[sheep]]), which were sufficient to feed the population. Just after the [[American Civil War|Civil War]] ended, the demand for a [[cash crop]] led to major reliance on [[cotton]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/georgia/madisonGA1921/madisonGA1921.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150926104716/http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Internet/FSE_MANUSCRIPTS/georgia/madisonGA1921/madisonGA1921.pdf |archive-date=September 26, 2015 |url-status=live|format=PDF|title= Soil Survey of Madison County, Georgia|author=David D. Long|date=1921|website=Nrcs.usda.gov|access-date=July 11, 2018}}</ref> The soils of Madison County were heavily damaged by this cotton monoculture. From the 1930s on, agriculture became more diverse. Today, [[agribusiness]] dominates the local economy, with poultry production particularly important.

Madison and Oglethorpe counties share [[Watson Mill Bridge]] State Park, the site of the longest covered bridge in Georgia. The bridge, which is over 100 years old, spans 229 feet of the South Fork of the Broad River. There are also facilities for camping, hiking trails, picnicking, and fishing in the park.

The [[Madison County Courthouse (Georgia)|Madison County Courthouse]], one of the most ornate in Georgia, was built in 1901 for the sum of $18,314. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. New Hope Presbyterian Church, established in 1788, is the third oldest church in Georgia.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ila.georgia.gov/05/article/0,2680,8910483_7355477_25516167,00.html|title=Ila|website=Georgia.gov|access-date=July 11, 2018}}</ref>

Lt. Col. [[Lemuel Penn]], a decorated veteran of World War II and a [[United States Army Reserve]] officer, was murdered by members of the [[Ku Klux Klan]] on July 11, 1964, nine days after passage of the [[1964 Civil Rights Act|Civil Rights Act]], on a [[Broad River (Georgia)|Broad River]] bridge on the [[State Route 172 (Georgia)|Georgia State Route 172]] in Madison County.<ref>{{cite journal |last= Alschuler |first= Albert W. |date=February 1995 |title= Racial Quotas and the Jury |journal= [[Duke Law Journal]] |volume= 44 |issue= 4 |pages= 704–743 |doi= 10.2307/1372922 |publisher= Duke University School of Law |jstor= 1372922 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news | first = Jim | last = Thompson | title = Highway 172 revisited | url = http://onlineathens.com/stories/071104/new_20040711120.shtml | work = [[Athens Banner-Herald]] | date = July 11, 2004 }}</ref>

===Postal history===
In 1879, there were only four post offices in Madison County: Danielsville, Fort Lamar, Madison Springs and Paoli.<ref>"Post Offices in the United States, December 1, 1879, Arranged by States and Counties." ''United States Official Postal Guide.'' Houghton, Osgood and Company, 1880. [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hn2ze3&view=page&seq=339 p. 331.]</ref> In 1889, Madison county had post offices at Carlton, Danielsville, Dowdy, Fort Lamar, Gholston (Gholston's Stand), Hix, Ila, Madison Springs, Medicus, Paoli and Planter.<ref>"Post Offices in the United States, December 1, 1889, Arranged by States and Counties." ''United States Official Postal Guide.'' The Brodix Publishing Company, 1890. [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924093025272&view=page&seq=512 p. 478.]</ref>

By 1900, additional post offices had been opened in Alvin, Berea, Boggs, Carruth, Comer, Fiveforks (now Comer), Jeptha, Larkin, Monitor, Neese, Pocataligo and Sorrells, while the offices in Gholston and Medicus had been closed.<ref>"Post Offices in the United States, December 1, 1900, With Stations and Sub-stations, Arranged by States and Counties." ''United States Official Postal Guide.'' George F. Lasher, Printer, 1901. [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.hn4jgw&view=page&seq=627 p. 615.]</ref>  By 1910, most of these post offices had closed; the only remaining ones were in Carlton, Colbert, Comer, Danielsville and Hull.<ref>"Post Offices and Branch Post Offices, Arranged by States and Counties, June 1, 1910." ''United States Official Postal Guide.'' J. B. Lyon Printers, 1910. [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uc1.b2919444&view=page&seq=604 p. 580.]</ref>

By 1920, the office in Ila had reopened.<ref>"County List: Post Offices and Branch Post Offices, June 1, 1920." ''United States Official Postal Guide.'' The Post Office Department, 1920. [https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=coo.31924096497627&view=page&seq=686 p. 680.]</ref>  The county would retain these six post offices {{as of|alt=into the 21st century.|2023|6}}<ref>[https://postofficefinder.org/ga/madison/ Madison County, Georgia], at PostOfficeFinder.org. Retrieved July 1, 2023.</ref>