Hanover College, Indiana's oldest private four year liberal arts college is located four miles west of Madison and offers a faculty with over seventy-five percent having doctorates. Hanover College with it's 550 acre campus and thirty buildings is one of the nations most scenic campuses.

PUBLIC LIBRARIES: Jefferson County Public Library, the oldest library in the state consisting of over 91,200 volumes, established for and supported by the people of Madison and Jefferson County. Hanover College Library consists of 278,200 items.

RADIO STATIONS: WORX AM and FM. WIKI FM.

INTERNET: Madison is the home base for INSITES a Virtual Internet server, providing full internet solutions for business, industry and the individual internet user.

TELEGRAPH: Western Union.

POST OFFICE: 1st Class and a branch office.

BUS LINE: White Star Line, Inc., with charters and tours available.

TRANSPORTATION: Madison, Indiana is served by U.S. Highway 421 and Indiana Highways 7, 56, 62, and 256. This area has convenient access to Interstate 65 (22 miles), Interstate 71 (17 miles), and Interstate 74 (45 miles). The Madison, Indiana and Milton, Kentucky bridge is a major route across the Ohio River between the cities of Louisville, Kentucky and Cincinnati, Ohio. There is another bridge that crosses the river at Markland Dam east of Madison (32 miles).

There are three major forms of commercial and industrial transportation available in the Madison area. Madison is served by over twenty trucking companies with several having local terminals as well as daily United Parcel Service pick-up and delivery. There are fifteen barge lines available to local business and industry, and through freight agencies barge service at Madison can be utilized for import and export of goods.

The third form of transportation offered is the Madison Railroad which provides local rail freight service over a 22 mile segment of track between Madison and North Vernon, Indiana, where connections are made with the Chessie System.

Madison is also served by it's own municipal airport. Altitude 815 feet above sea level on runway 213 or 3 with a heading of 210 or 030 located four miles northwest of downtown Madison. This airport has facilities for private and charter aircraft and offers a hard surface bituminous runway. Commercial service for this area is available in Louisville, Kentucky, Indianapolis, Indiana and near Cincinnati, Ohio.

UTILITIES: The power supply for Madison and Jefferson County is furnished by Public Service Indiana, Indiana's largest electric utility company. Public Service Indiana maintains complete office and operating headquarters in Madison with distribution and transmission lines serving all parts of Madison in addition to industrial sites in Jefferson County.

Natural gas of 1,030 BTU content is supplied to Madison area by Indiana Gas Company, Inc. through transmission facilities of Texas Gas Transmission Corporation. High pressure 5 & 6 inch mains supply Madison with low pressure gas service and 3 to 6 inch mains supply the residential and industrial areas.

Telephone service for Madison is provided by GTE Telephone System North of Indiana, one of the nations largest independent telephone systems. Madison is linked to the National Direct Distance Dialing Network with both land and microwave facilities.

Madison is the home base for INSITES a Virtual Internet server, providing full internet solutions for business, industry and the individual internet user.

Domestic and industrial water requirements of the City of Madison are supplied by the municipally owned Madison Water Department. The system capacity is rated at 210,000 gallons per hour with consumption averaging approximately one half of capacity. Water is distributed through trunk lines ranging from 6 to 12 inches in diameter.

Madison's modern sewage disposal plant was constructed with a design flow of 2,400,000 gallons per day, large enough to serve a city half again the size of Madison. The recently completed secondary sewage disposal plant has a design flow of 3,600,000 gallons per day with a maximum operational population of 40,000 persons, while the current population demand is approximately 15,000.

RECREATION: The Ohio River serves as a mecca for water sports, with public and private boat docks located along the waterfront, including two public boat launching facilities maintained by the City of Madison. One of the facilities also contains a large permanent bandstand for summer concerts on the river front. The Ohio River in Madison is also the location for the Indiana Governor's Cup Regatta, which features the world's fastest unlimited hydroplanes and draws over 50,000 spectators annually. The Madison Main Street Program offers spring, summer and fall Music In The Park festivals.

Camping, picnicking, naturalist guides, hiking and walking trails, swimming and other facilities are available at Clifty Falls State Park located at the western edge of Madison. This 1,300+ acre park draws many tourists to the Madison area and is extremely popular in the fall season when the leaves begin changing color.

The City of Madison's recreational facilities include 255 acres of developed park and recreational properties and include an 18 hole golf course, public swimming pool, a fishing lake, sports complex, numerous ball parks and varied playground facilities.

SHOPPING: Madison is widely recognized not only for it's unique shopping opportunities in the 140+ year old downtown Main Street area with its many different private antique shops, but also for its small-town personalized service. Hundreds of stores and specialty shops provide for every need, convenience and desire. While many people are drawn by the beautiful ongoing restoration and historic preservation evident in the downtown historical district, many others take advantage of the modern shopping centers located on Madison's hilltop.

TRADE AREA: Madison is the principal city within approximately a 45 mile radius, having an estimated population of 175,000 people. Approximately 50% of this population resides in urban areas. There are over four and one half million persons seated on Historic Madison's doorstep in the metropolitan areas of Louisville, Indianapolis and Cincinnati.

INDUSTRY: Madison has a wide variety of industry offering many different types of goods for export throughout the country, they include:
ADAMS BOAT YARD..... (Boats, Aluminum Docks)
ARVIN-SANGO..... (Automotive Exhaust Systems)
BAILEY MANUFACTURING COMPANY..... (Automotive Parts)
CENTURY TERMINALS..... (Commodities Handling)
ClLIFTY ENGINEERING..... (Tool & Die making)
COLLINS TOOL & DIE..... (Tool & Die Making)
ELBURG ARCHERY..... (Archery Equipment)
ENVIREX..... (Metal Fabrication)
FAS..... (Plastic)
GROTE MANUFACTURING CO..... (Automotive parts & lights)
IMAGE CONTROL..... (Pneumatic Circuitry)
INDIANA KENTUCKY ELECTRIC..... (Power Generation)
INSITES..... (Internet Web Presence Service Providers, Internet & Computer Consultants)
KEY MANUFACTURING COMPANY..... (Injection Molding)
MADISON CANDLE FACTORY..... (Scented Candles)
MADISON CHEMICAL COMPANY..... (Industrial Cleaners)
MADISON ELECTROPLATING CORP...... (Zinc Plating)
MADISON PRECISION PRODUCTS..... (Rocker Arm Assembly)
MADISON RIVER TERMINAL..... (CARGO Transfer)
MEESE INC..... (Canvas Products)
RELIANCE ELECTRIC..... (Electric Motors)
ROBUS PRODUCTS..... (Reprocessed Leather)
ROTARY LIFT..... (Automotive Lifts)
ROYER DESIGN..... (Advertising Specialties)
TOWER MANUFACTURING..... (Tacks & Nails)
TRIANGLE TOOL & DIE...... (Special Parts and Dies)
WILLIAMSON COMPANY..... (Metal Fabrication)

We do not know the origin of the first people who were our fore-runners here in Madison. Not even the Indians of whom our own ancestors knew; as the early inhabitants of Madison; knew from where they came; nor when they lived here;     nor why and when they left. They were known as the Mound Builders.                                                                                          

There are many clues to tell us people occupied our hills and valleys for a long time before we came. Mostly they lived     wherever they could find water along rivers and streams. They were a migrant people who hunted and fished in many spots. To them belong the first pages of our history; after them came the American Indian as we know of him.
Around the years of the mid 1600's the territory was populated only by a few hunters and trappers. They were mostly French, and a few Indians who were of a small number and were scattered in various places.

The hills and the river were very different than what we see here today. The river being full of great trees that were dead, logs and debris. The currents of the river were sometimes very swift. There were many wild animals in the wooded and hilly areas and different species of water fowl along the river. The hills surrounding what is now Madison were almost naked of trees with just a few scrubs growing on them.

In 1670, the French obtained possession of what is now Madison and placed it under control of the Colonial Empire of Louisiana.

From 1721 until 1763 Madison was included in the District of Illinois under the Mississippi Company. In 1763 at the close of the great struggle between England and France for the control of North America, Indiana, together with the other French possessions east of the Mississippi, passed into the hands of the English.

It is almost sure that the river was used by whoever came this way first. It is sure the names of the first travelers and people who stayed just a little while will never be known. These people make up the second page of our history.

In 1774, the French of Canada and the Indiana country were greatly dissatisfied with the English regime. In order to remove the cause of this dissatisfaction, Parliament, passed the Quebec Act which united the Northwest, including the Indiana country, with Canada, establishing a government quite acceptable to the inhabitants of this territory. In 1778, Indiana came under the dominion of Virginia by reason of the conquests of George Rogers Clark, but it still remained under the jurisdiction of Quebec.
In 1784, the area which includes Madison, was ceded by Virginia to the United States Government and became part of the Northwest Territory.

In 1805 white settlers searched the area for home sites. The first cabin was built at the top of the Michigan Hill in the spring of 1806 by Elder Jessie Vawter. That same year William and John Hall arrived and erected their cabin near the river bank in what became the east end of the city.

A public sale of government land was held at Jeffersonville in 1809. Here for $2.50 per acre, John Paul purchased the ground on which the city grew. Assisted by Jonathan Lyon and Lewis Davis, he laid out that portion of the budding city bounded by First, Fourth, East and West Streets. Since James Madison was currently President of the United States, John Paul named the town Madison in his honor.

Some settlers began arriving by boat from New England and the East. Others trekked up from the South via the Cumberland Gap. In addition to bringing their cherished possessions they bore in mind the image of architectural customs of the localities from which they came. Some brought detailed house plans. Substantial houses of brick and stone began rising beside their log neighbors. No single style predominated. This heritage of Georgian, Federal, Regency, Classic revival, Gothic, and Americanized Italian Villa architectural styles is unique to Southern Indiana.

Many of the local homes typical of this era are either preserved intact or are being restored. One such home is that of a man who gave Indianapolis its name, Jeremiah Sullivan. This house, built in 1818, is considered an excellent sample of Federal style initiated in this country by Thomas Jefferson. An air of stateliness is achieved by paired chimneys at one end of the house. This building is now maintained by Historic Madison, Inc., as a memorial to the man who was constructively active in both local and state affairs.

Historic Madison, Inc., is a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of local landmarks and promotion of cultural projects. Their auditorium is available for public concerts, meetings, and exhibits. This building is one of the finest examples of Greek Revival architecture in the Midwest. It was built in 1835 and was the city's finest public building.

The Lanier Home is an outstanding example of Greek Reival influence in Madison architecture. This home is now a state memorial honoring a true patriot and financier-James F.D. Lanier. He advanced Governor Morton $400,000 to equip ten thousand troops which Indiana provided for the Civil War. Some two years later the legislature adjourned without making appropriations for meeting the necessary expenses of the State. A second time Mr. Lanier came to the rescue with a loan of $640,000, all without security.

River boats and small pleasure craft provide amusement and recreation on the Ohio River. The Delta Queen, the last of the old passenger-carrying stern wheelers, makes Madison one of its few regularly scheduled stops. As Madison grew, the importance of river traffic increased. In spite of good transportation overland, the water route now handles a larger volume of cargos annually than clears through the Panama Canal.

Indiana-Kentucky Electric Corporation's Clifty Creek electric generating station is located along the Ohio River in the west end of Madison and is one of the industrial landmarks of the Madison community. Presently, two chimneys are visible at this facility. As part of a $125,000,000 upgrading of the plant's particulate emission control systems, two new chimneys were erected to a height of 982' above ground level. The three chimneys that were 682' above ground level, have been removed and the boiler gases transferred to the two new stacks. Electric energy generated at this plant goes to a primary customer, the DOE (Department of Energy), of the U.S. Government, Portsmouth Area Gaseous Diffusion Plant separating uranium-235. Surplus power, over and above that required by the DOE from Clifty's six generating units (having a total capability of 1,284,000 kw/hr) is sold to IKE's 15 sponsoring companies, all investor-owned, which serve in an adjacent seven-state area. The plant consumes over 4,000,000 tons of coal each year, employs 390 people, and has an annual payroll of more than five million dollars.

Madison is an important sales center for Burley tobacco, with sales running 17 to 19 million dollars a season, as from 9 to 11 million pounds of tobacco cross the floors of the three warehouses. Madison's tobacco market is supplied by growers throughout Southern Indiana and nearby Northern Kentucky counties.

In 1943, during World War II, Madison was picked by the Office of War Information as a "typical American town." Movies were made of it and had global distribution. It was shown to tired and weary soldiers in the battle areas and was told that this is what you are fighting to for. In 1958 Madison was the setting for the movie "Some Came Running." In 1977 Madison had the honor of being picked as one of the three winners of the Main Street U.S.A. program sponsored by the National Trust for Historic Preservation and the United States Chamber of Commerce.

Madison is no less typical now than it was then. It retains its quiet charm, and its population is growing every day.

Back to Home Page

Back to the oldmadison.com Home Page
Copyright 1997. All rights reserved.