Madison Parish, Louisiana facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Madison Parish
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Parish
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Madison Parish Courthouse in Tallulah
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Location within the U.S. state of Louisiana
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 Louisiana's location within the U.S. |
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  Louisiana |
| Founded | 1838 |
| Named for | James Madison |
| Seat | Tallulah |
| Largest city | Tallulah |
| Area | |
| • Total | 651 sq mi (1,690 km2) |
| • Land | 624 sq mi (1,620 km2) |
| • Water | 26 sq mi (70 km2) 4.1% |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 10,017 |
| • Density | 15.387/sq mi (5.941/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−6 (Central) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−5 (CDT) |
| Congressional district | 5th |
Madison Parish (French: Paroisse de Madison) is a parish located on the northeastern border of the U.S. state of Louisiana, in the delta lowlands along the Mississippi River. As of the 2020 census, the population was 10,017. Its parish seat is Tallulah. The parish was formed in 1839.
With a history of cotton plantations and pecan farms, the parish economy continues to be primarily agricultural. It has a majority African-American population. For years a ferry connected Delta, Louisiana (and traffic from the parish) to Vicksburg, Mississippi. The Vicksburg Bridge now carries U.S. Route 80 and Interstate 20 across the river into Madison Parish.
Contents
History
Prehistory
Madison Parish was the home to many succeeding Native American groups in the thousands of years before European settlements began. Peoples of the Marksville culture, Troyville culture, Coles Creek culture and Plaquemine culture built villages and mound sites throughout the area. Notable examples include the Fitzhugh Mounds and the Raffman Site.
Modern era
The parish is named for former U.S. President James Madison. Furthermore in Madison's honor, the parish courthouse is built in the colonial Virginia style of architecture though, as with many other Louisiana communities, the structure sits in the center of the immediate downtown area. It faces east. Nearby is the Tallulah City Hall, which faces south.
During the American Civil War, Madison Parish, then a rich cotton area, sent many of its men into battle early in the war. In 1862, it paid $80 to anyone joining one of her Confederate military companies. When Governor Thomas Overton Moore saw that New Orleans would fall to the Union, he issued orders for the destruction of cotton to keep it from Federal hands. Hence hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cotton were burned as the planters sadly looked on. Governor Moore asked Brig. Gen. R. B. Todd, who commanded the Eleventh Brigade in northeast Louisiana to call into active service his own militia and all men between eighteen and forty who were not subject to conscription. These men from Madison, Carroll, and Tensas parishes were to cooperate with Confederate authorities to help repel Federal attacks in the area.
Toward the end of the war, Madison Parish faced problems with jayhawkers sympathetic to the Union, who according to historian Winters, "were holed up in the impenetrable cane and cypress swamps in the area. This band, made up of draft dodgers, deserters, and runaway Negroes, often left the swamps to rob, kill, or capture anyone who passed by on the road." The Confederates dressed in Federal uniforms to trick the jayhawkers. Winters continues: "The leader of the desperadoes, a huge black, welcomed the supposed Federal troops. Suddenly the [Confederate] disguised men fell upon the surprised gang and began to slaughter them. [In] a quick but bloody struggle [the Confederates] killed 130 of the group. The few who escaped never again returned to ravage the area."
The Sevier family dominated Madison Parish politics for more than a century. The Seviers claim descent from John Sevier, a fighter in the American Revolution, governor of Tennessee, and namesake of Sevierville and Sevier County in eastern Tennessee. Among the political Seviers were Louisiana State Senator Andrew L. Sevier, who served from 1932 until his death in 1962, and State Representative Henry Clay "Happy" Sevier, Sr., whose tenure extended from 1936 to 1952. William Putnam "Buck" Sevier, Jr., was a banker, town alderman, and mayor of Tallulah from 1947 until his retirement in 1974. Andrew Jackson Sevier, Jr., served as sheriff of Madison Parish from 1904 until his death in 1941, when he was briefly succeeded by his wife, Mary Louise Day Sevier. Not a Sevier, but married to the former Rosa Vertner Sevier, was State Representative Mason Spencer, who served in the House from 1924 to 1936.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the parish has a total area of 651 square miles (1,690 km2), of which 624 square miles (1,620 km2) is land and 26 square miles (67 km2) (4.1%) is water.
Major highways
Interstate 20
U.S. Highway 65
U.S. Highway 80
Adjacent counties and parishes
- East Carroll Parish (north)
- Warren County, Mississippi (east)
- Tensas Parish (south)
- Franklin Parish (southwest)
- Richland Parish (northwest)
National protected areas
- Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge (part)
- Vicksburg National Military Park (part)
Communities
Cities
- Tallulah (parish seat)
Villages
Demographics
Because of limited job opportunities as agriculture has mechanized and the Chicago Lumber Mill closed, the parish population has declined overall by about one-third since its peak in 1980. Numerous African Americans left during the first half of the 20th century in the Great Migration to escape the violence and oppression of Jim Crow; they moved to the North and West.
| Historical population | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1840 | 5,142 | — | |
| 1850 | 8,773 | 70.6% | |
| 1860 | 14,133 | 61.1% | |
| 1870 | 8,600 | −39.1% | |
| 1880 | 13,906 | 61.7% | |
| 1890 | 14,135 | 1.6% | |
| 1900 | 12,322 | −12.8% | |
| 1910 | 10,676 | −13.4% | |
| 1920 | 10,829 | 1.4% | |
| 1930 | 14,829 | 36.9% | |
| 1940 | 18,443 | 24.4% | |
| 1950 | 17,451 | −5.4% | |
| 1960 | 16,444 | −5.8% | |
| 1970 | 15,065 | −8.4% | |
| 1980 | 15,975 | 6.0% | |
| 1990 | 12,463 | −22.0% | |
| 2000 | 13,728 | 10.2% | |
| 2010 | 12,093 | −11.9% | |
| 2020 | 10,017 | −17.2% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010 |
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2020 census
| Race / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic) | Pop 2000 | Pop 2010 | Pop 2020 | % 2000 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
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| White alone (NH) | 5,087 | 4,396 | 3,414 | 37.06% | 36.35% | 34.08% |
| Black or African American alone (NH) | 8,259 | 7,357 | 6,173 | 60.16% | 60.84% | 61.63% |
| Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH) | 18 | 23 | 27 | 0.13% | 0.19% | 0.27% |
| Asian alone (NH) | 21 | 26 | 6 | 0.15% | 0.22% | 0.06% |
| Pacific Islander alone (NH) | 2 | 0 | 5 | 0.01% | 0.00% | 0.05% |
| Other race alone (NH) | 2 | 8 | 4 | 0.01% | 0.07% | 0.04% |
| Mixed race or Multiracial (NH) | 51 | 95 | 184 | 0.37% | 0.79% | 1.84% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 288 | 188 | 204 | 2.10% | 1.55% | 2.04% |
| Total | 13,728 | 12,093 | 10,017 | 100.00% | 100.00% | 100.00% |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 10,017 people, 3,832 households, and 2,443 families residing in the parish.
Education
Public schools in Madison Parish are operated by the Madison Parish School Board.
Corrections
The private Lasalle Management firm operates the Madison Parish Correctional Center and Louisiana Correction Transitional Center for Women (CTCW), both located in Tallulah.
Notable people
- Buddy Caldwell
- Zelma Wyche
See also
In Spanish: Parroquia de Madison para niños
