Historical Marker
Madison County
Madisonville, Madison County · Texas
Erected 1936
Madison County kept a rough reputation. Reports call it wild and wooly before and after the Civil War, and it was nicknamed the Free State of Madison. It also burned: fire took three courthouses between 1854 and 1873, and a fourth in 1967. The county was carved from Grimes, Walker and Leon because people in their northern ends lived forty to fifty miles from their seats. Dr. Pleasant W. Kittrell, Sam Houston's physician, pushed the bill and named county and seat. From 1860 into the late twentieth century, the population ran about seventy percent White and thirty percent Black.
What the plaque says
Madison County Formed from Grimes, Walker, and Leon counties. Created January 21, 1853 and organized April 4, 1853. Named in honor of James Madison 1751-1836, "Father of the Constitution," fourth president of the United States. County seat, Madisonville.
Where it stands
30.96037, -95.91574 · Directions
Worth the stop nearby
- Fort Boggy State Park — 16 miA 1,847-acre park in Leon County named for a settlers' palisade of 1840, with a 15-acre lake, short trails and the story of Tennessee farmers, the Keechi and a Ranger captain.
More markers nearby
- Thomas Beck — 0.8 mi
- Truman Kimbro — 0.8 mi
- Jubal Richard Parten — 1.0 mi
- Wilson Chapel Methodist Church — 1.1 mi