Madison County, Tennessee facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Madison County
U.S. county
Madison County Courthouse in March 2012
Location within the U.S. state of Tennessee
Tennessee's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Tennessee
Founded	1821
Named for	James Madison
Seat	Jackson
Largest city	Jackson
Area
• Total	559 sq mi (1,450 km2)
• Land	557 sq mi (1,440 km2)
• Water	1.5 sq mi (4 km2)  0.3%%
Population  (2020)
• Total	98,823
• Density	176/sq mi (68/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	8th

Madison County is a county located in the western part of Tennessee. It's a place where many people live and work.

In 2020, about 98,823 people lived here. The main city and county center is Jackson. Madison County is also part of the larger Jackson, TN area.

History of Madison County

Madison County was created in 1821. It was named after James Madison, one of the important leaders who helped start the United States. He was also a president.

This land was bought by the United States in 1818 from the Chickasaw people. Later, in 1830, a law called the Indian Removal Act was passed. This law forced most Chickasaw people to move away from Tennessee. They had to go west, across the Mississippi River.

Ancient History: Pinson Mounds

Madison County is home to Pinson Mounds. This is a very old site with large earth mounds. These mounds were built by Native American people long ago, between the years 1 and 500 CE.

Pinson Mounds is one of the biggest mound sites in the United States. It even has the second-tallest earth mound in the country!

Geography of Madison County

A sign welcoming you to Madison County.

Madison County covers about 559 square miles. Most of this area, about 557 square miles, is land. Only a small part, about 1.5 square miles, is water.

Travel and Nature

The county has its own airport, called McKellar-Sipes Regional Airport (MKL). This airport helps people travel to and from the area.

There's also a large lake here called Lake Graham. It's about 500 acres big. People use it for fun activities like fishing and to help protect wildlife. It's located about 5 miles east of Jackson.

Neighboring Counties

Madison County shares its borders with several other counties:

• Gibson County (to the north)
• Carroll County (to the northeast)
• Henderson County (to the east)
• Chester County (to the southeast)
• Hardeman County (to the south)
• Haywood County (to the west)
• Crockett County (to the northwest)

Protected Natural Areas

Several areas in Madison County are protected to preserve nature and history:

• Pinson Mounds State Archaeological Park (where the ancient mounds are)
• Middle Fork Bottoms State Park
• South Fork Waterfowl Refuge
• Lake Graham

Major Roads

Important highways that run through Madison County include:

• US-45
• US-412
• US-70
• I-40

People of Madison County

The number of people living in Madison County has grown a lot over the years. In 1830, there were about 11,594 people. By 2020, the population had grown to 98,823.

Who Lives Here?

The 2020 United States census showed that Madison County is home to many different people.

In 2020, there were 98,823 people living in 38,930 households. About 25,748 of these were families.

Healthcare Services

West Tennessee Healthcare is the main public hospital system in Madison County. It was started in 1949. The county helps choose some of the people who manage this hospital system.

Fun Fact about Media

You might have heard of Madison County in a song! The famous singer Kenny Rogers mentions this Madison County in his song "Reuben James."

Communities in Madison County

A marker showing the Madison County line.

Madison County has several cities and smaller communities.

Cities

• Humboldt (most of it is in a different county, Gibson County)
• Jackson (This is the county's main city and where the county government is located.)
• Medon (part of it is in Hardeman County)
• Three Way

Designated Places

• Mercer (partly in Haywood County)

Smaller Communities

These are smaller towns or areas that are not officially cities:

Education in Madison County

Madison County has several schools and colleges.

The public schools are part of the Jackson-Madison County School System.

For higher education, there are:

• Lane College: A private college that has a special history for Black students. It is connected to the Christian Methodist Episcopal Church.
• Union University: A private school linked to the Tennessee Baptist Convention.
• West Tennessee School for the Deaf: A school run by the state for students who are deaf.

Images for kids

• 

  This chart shows the age groups of people in Madison County.

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Madison (Tennessee) para niños