Madison County, Virginia Facts for Kids

This page is about the county formed in 1792. For the county formed in 1785 which is now part of Kentucky, see Madison County, Kentucky.

Quick facts for kids Madison County
U.S. county
Madison County Courthouse, built 1829
Location within the U.S. state of Virginia
Virginia's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Virginia
Founded	1792
Named for	James Madison
Seat	Madison
Largest town	Madison
Area
• Total	322 sq mi (830 km²)
• Land	321 sq mi (830 km²)
• Water	1.2 sq mi (3 km²) 0.4%
Population (2020)
• Total	13,837
• Density	43/sq mi (17/km²)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	7th

Madison County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,837. Its county seat is Madison.

History
Geography
Demographics
- 2020 census
Communities
Education
See also

History

Madison County was established in December 1792, created from Culpeper County. The county is named for the Madison family that owned land along the Rapidan River. President James Madison is a descendant of that family.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 322 square miles (830 km²), of which 321 square miles (830 km²) is land and 1.2 square miles (3.1 km²) (0.4%) is water.

A significant portion of western Madison County is within Shenandoah National Park, including Hawksbill Mountain, the highest point in both the park and in Madison County, Old Rag Mountain, one of the park's most popular tourist destinations, and Rapidan Camp, the presidential retreat built by Herbert Hoover. Hoover's Camp was built between 1929 and 1932. The camp consisted of 13 buildings with the main one being "The Brown House". In 2017, only three of these houses are still standing (The Brown House, The Prime Minister Cabin, and The Creel). The camp was built where two streams merge to form the Rapidan River because fishing was Hoover's favorite pastime. Hoover even made sure that the camp was built at an elevation where mosquitos would not be a nuisance while fishing. The camp was donated to the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1932 so other presidents could use it and in December 1935 it officially became a part of Shenandoah National Park.

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Shenandoah National Park (part)

Major highways

US 15
US 29
SR 230
SR 231

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.	%±
1800	8,322	—
1810	8,381	0.7%
1820	8,490	1.3%
1830	9,236	8.8%
1840	8,107	−12.2%
1850	9,331	15.1%
1860	8,854	−5.1%
1870	8,670	−2.1%
1880	10,562	21.8%
1890	10,225	−3.2%
1900	10,216	−0.1%
1910	10,055	−1.6%
1920	9,595	−4.6%
1930	8,952	−6.7%
1940	8,465	−5.4%
1950	8,273	−2.3%
1960	8,187	−1.0%
1970	8,638	5.5%
1980	10,232	18.5%
1990	11,949	16.8%
2000	12,520	4.8%
2010	13,308	6.3%
2020	13,837	4.0%
U.S. Decennial Census 1790–1960 1900–1990 1990–2000 2010 2020

2020 census

**Madison County, Virginia – Racial and ethnic composition**
*Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.*
Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)	Pop 2010	Pop 2020	% 2010	% 2020
White alone (NH)	11,394	11,563	85.62%	83.57%
Black or African American alone (NH)	1,292	1,056	9.71%	7.63%
Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)	22	14	0.17%	0.10%
Asian alone (NH)	74	86	0.56%	0.62%
Pacific Islander alone (NH)	4	1	0.03%	0.01%
Some Other Race alone (NH)	10	53	0.08%	0.38%
Mixed Race or Multi-Racial (NH)	276	623	2.07%	4.50%
Hispanic or Latino (any race)	236	441	1.77%	3.19%
Total	13,308	13,837	100.00%	100.00%

Communities

Towns

Madison

Census-designated place

Brightwood

Other unincorporated communities

Education

Madison County Public Schools has around 2000 students in four schools. Madison Primary School has grades K–2 and has around 370 students. Waverly Yowell Elementary School has grades 3–5 and around 410 students. William Wetsel Middle School has grades 6–8 and around 415 students. Madison County High School has grades 9–12 and has around 665 students. All statistics based on 2007–2008 VA DOE statistics. It is also home to Woodberry Forest School, a private, all-male boarding school.

Censorship

In January 2023, the Madison County School Board banned 21 books from the high school library, including books by Stephen King, Toni Morrison, and Christian writer Anne Rice.

Madison County High School

Madison County High School is the county's only High School. Grades 9–12 attend MCHS. The total number of students at MCHS was 584 for 2013–2014. Madison County's nickname is the Mountaineers and have two main logos. One is an inked drawing of a Mountaineer standing on a mountain. In the background, a caravan of people and covered wagons can be seen being led by the Mountaineer. The second main logo is a "M" with a "C" offset and connected to it standing for Madison County, the name of both the county and high school. The colors are blue and white. MCHS fields athletic teams in football, basketball, soccer, volleyball, wrestling, track, cross country, golf, baseball and softball. Swimming was added as a sport in 2011. Cheerleading teams are also fielded for football and basketball games. Madison is home to the 2012 Group A, Division 1 state champions in Forensics.

MCHS offers AP courses and dual enrollment courses through Germanna Community College. MCHS has full accreditation from the Virginia Department of Education with Virginia Standards of Learning passing rates ranging from 94 percent on the history to 86 percent on the science. MCHS graduates more than 90% of its students per year.

William H. Wetsel Middle School

William H. Wetsel Middle School was opened in August 1993 under the leadership of Principal, John Anderson. Grades 6 and 7 were moved from Waverly Yowell Elementary School and Grade 8 was removed from Madison County High School to form a Grades 6-8 middle school. William Wetsel, the school's namesake, was a former agriculture teacher and superintendent in Madison County.

Madison County, Virginia facts for kids

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