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Madison County
Madison County
County
	Madison County Courthouse, built 1829
	Location within the U.S. state of Virginia
	Virginia's location within the U.S.
	Coordinates: 38°25′N 78°17′W / 38.41°N 78.28°W
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
Website	www.madisonco.virginia.gov

Madison County is a county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,837.^[1] Its county seat is Madison.^[2]

History

Madison County was established in December 1792, created from Culpeper County.^[3] 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

Shenandoah National Park

Madison

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.^[4]

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.^[5]

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Shenandoah National Park (part)

Major highways

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^[6] 1790–1960^[7] 1900–1990^[8] 1990–2000^[9] 2010^[10] 2020^[11]

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^[10]	Pop 2020^[11]	% 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%

2000 Census

As of the census^[12] of 2000, there were 12,520 people, 4,739 households, and 3,521 families residing in the county. The population density was 39 people per square mile (15 people/km²). There were 5,239 housing units at an average density of 16 units per square mile (6.2 units/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 86.71% White, 11.41% Black or African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.50% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 0.93% from two or more races. 0.77% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,739 households, out of which 30.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.40% were married couples living together, 8.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.70% were non-families. 21.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.60 and the average family size was 3.03.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.10% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 27.60% from 25 to 44, 26.40% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 95.00 males. For every 100 females aged 18 and over, there were 94.60 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $39,856, and the median income for a family was $44,857. Males had a median income of $30,805 versus $24,384 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,636. About 6.90% of families and 9.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.70% of those under age 18 and 10.20% of those age 65 or over.

Communities

Towns

Madison

Census-designated place

Brightwood

Other unincorporated communities

Politics

Madison County is a Republican stronghold and has not voted for a Democratic presidential nominee since 1940.

United States presidential election results for Madison County, Virginia^[13]
Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party(ies)
Year	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2024	5,671	66.88%	2,700	31.84%	109	1.29%
2020	5,300	65.20%	2,698	33.19%	131	1.61%
2016	4,419	63.32%	2,203	31.57%	357	5.12%
2012	3,869	58.50%	2,639	39.90%	106	1.60%
2008	3,758	56.10%	2,862	42.72%	79	1.18%
2004	3,556	61.61%	2,176	37.70%	40	0.69%
2000	2,940	58.48%	1,844	36.68%	243	4.83%
1996	2,296	50.91%	1,734	38.45%	480	10.64%
1992	2,341	48.99%	1,700	35.57%	738	15.44%
1988	2,501	62.12%	1,427	35.44%	98	2.43%
1984	2,723	67.15%	1,302	32.11%	30	0.74%
1980	1,959	55.64%	1,351	38.37%	211	5.99%
1976	1,710	52.97%	1,466	45.42%	52	1.61%
1972	1,864	73.41%	639	25.17%	36	1.42%
1968	1,188	48.71%	478	19.60%	773	31.69%
1964	1,060	55.12%	862	44.83%	1	0.05%
1960	998	60.38%	636	38.48%	19	1.15%
1956	850	56.86%	533	35.65%	112	7.49%
1952	1,012	64.96%	540	34.66%	6	0.39%
1948	662	55.72%	428	36.03%	98	8.25%
1944	811	56.79%	616	43.14%	1	0.07%
1940	646	48.14%	692	51.56%	4	0.30%
1936	662	45.13%	804	54.81%	1	0.07%
1932	522	37.83%	849	61.52%	9	0.65%
1928	772	57.10%	580	42.90%	0	0.00%
1924	347	35.74%	589	60.66%	35	3.60%
1920	431	45.80%	499	53.03%	11	1.17%
1916	348	37.50%	572	61.64%	8	0.86%
1912	210	31.02%	402	59.38%	65	9.60%

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.^[14]

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.^[15] 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.