Madison Station Historic District Walking Tour

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The house at 12 Main stands on Lot 2 of the original town plat of James Clemens' land that became the City of Madison. Lot 2 was first purchased at the October 5, 1868, Clemens estate auction by Hamilton G. Bradford. The property changed hands many times until Seymour and Indiana Doolittle built their home here.

2. 16 Main Street - Clay House

Clay House was the home of Sarah A. Clay, widow of Andrew J. Clay a private in the Molly Walton Guard and casualty of the Civil War. Sarah was also the daughter in law of the first Mayor of Madison Thomas J. Clay. Sarah Clay was listed as a seamstress with one child in the 1870 census living in downtown Madison.

3. 101 Main Street: Main Street Cafe

This structure was erected in 1954 - 1955 as a multi-function third City Hall. The first City Hall was the original Roundhouse. The second was a two-story wooden building located at the southwestern corner of the intersection of Garner and Martin Streets, where George Washington Wise's house had been. City Hall is now located at the new Madison Government Center on Hughes Road.

4. 104 Main Street

This building was originally constructed around 1942, It now hosts Zion Gourmet Popcorn and is a favorite of those with a sweet tooth! The structure was previously the office of Billy Nolan Drake, a grandson of Jim Williams. This location was also part of the site of the Jim Williams' store that encompassed the parking lot along Wise Street as well.

5. 108 Main Street

108 Main Street currently houses Jacklyn's Keepsakes. The site is the former building that was the site of W. T. Garner's store in the 1890s. James "Jim" Bronaugh general merchandise store operated from this site circa 1910. By 1942, Mr. Douglas C. Broyes moved his business to this location after a fire at 104 Main Street destroyed his store.

6. 110 Main Street - Madison Station Antiques

Believed to be one of the oldest stores in Madison, the building was built circa 1859 and owned by Mr. George Washington Martin. Later, Mr. Hardage operated a saloon in the building which was one of two in Madison at that time. Today, the building houses Madison Station Antiques.

7. 200 Main Street - Humphrey Hughes Rexall Drug Store

This is the second drug store building, which was the Burton-Wise Drug Store, Built ca. 1908. The store stayed in the Burton-Bradford family until 1975. Mr. Walton Hughes rented the building in 1925 and was in business until 1972. This is also the location of the first telephone switchboard for the city.

8. 208 Main Street

Frank G. Hertzler, son of Dr. John Hertzler, operated a hardware store at this 208 Main Street site in partnership with Matthew Harvey Anderson, the banker who lived at 17 Front Street. Frank built and resided in the house at 25 Front Street. The original store structure here was destroyed in the 1912 fire, and the tax office records of the county show that the current building was constructed in 1940.

9. Madison Veteran's Memorial Park

The Veterans Memorial Park is located on the southwest corner of the intersection of Church and Front Streets. The park was designed and constructed by Madison American Legion Post 229 in the spring and summer of 2001. The park is dedicated to Jesse Ollie Wikle, Jr., who was the first Madison man to lose his life in World War II, and to the members of the United States Military from the city of Madison who lost their lives during the wars of the 20th century.

10. Historical Marker: Affair at Madison Station

May 17, 1864 The largest engagement of the Civil War in Madison County was fought during a driving rainstorm here at the site of the railroad depot. Under the command of Col. Josiah Patterson, the Confederate forces (~1000 cavalry and a battery of artillery) crossed the Tennessee River near Triana and attacked a garrison of ~350 men of the 13th Illinois Infantry. Union forces fell back along the railroad toward Huntsville to Indian Creek. They counterattacked after being reinforced by infantry from Huntsville. Confederates were forced back across the river after burning equipment and cotton at the depot. Casualties were light on both sides.

11. Madison Station Roundhouse

This building is a replica of Madison's first city hall and is constructed on the original site of the Madison Depot. The original was built in the late 1800s while Capt. John Buchanan Floyd, a Confederate veteran was mayor. "The Roundhouse" served as the official city hall for town meetings, elections, and town activities such as weddings, hair cutting (when the barber made his weekly visit), and frequent card games.

12. 19 Front Street

This mansion was built by James Edward Williams at 19 Front Street in the historic original downtown part of Madison. The impressive multi-story home with wrap-around porches on two levels proudly graces the Front Street line of old houses reflecting the glory of Madison in the early 1900s.

13. 17 Front Street

Matthew Harvey Anderson, Merchant and Director of the Bank of Madison, built this house sometime after July of 1904, the date when he purchased Lots 23 and 24. It was occupied by Dr. James Allen Kyser for about 50 years before falling into neglect. Tony and Cindy Sensenberger purchased the ready-to-collapse structure at auction in 1997.

14. Buttermilk Alley

Most of the land for Buttermilk Alley was deeded to the city by the Clay family with the stipulation that it be named "Clay Street." Later it was called "Hobson Street" before the name "Buttermilk Alley" became widely used. Buttermilk Alley runs north and south and connects Arnett Street with Front Street.

15. Madison United Methodist Church

The Madison United Methodist Church was organized in 1828. A deed was issued in 1837 to the ''Trustees of the Methodist Church in U.S. of America" by Rowland and Elizabeth Gooch and was recorded in 1838. The church was located at the crossroads of the present Old Madison Pike and Hughes Road intersection, also known as Riddle's Corner and the "Old Triana Road." The present site was purchased in 1873, and the church was rolled on logs to the present location.

16. 302 Church Street - Lewis - Wann - Powell Home

This historic home has recently been extensively and impressively restored, remodeled, and enlarged by Teddy and Rikki Powell. It originally was built by Arthur Holding Lewis, a son of Meriwether A. Lewis of Triana. Lewis descendants say that Meriwether owned three steamboats to carry cotton to market from his plantation. It is believed that beams from one of the salvaged river boats formed the foundation of this house.

17. 306 Church Street - Gillespie – Wikle1897

The Gillespie-Wikle home was built in 1987 by William H. Gillespie. Thomas Logan Bradford and his wife Fannie Burton moved into the home in 1906. Tom was a pharmacist working with his future father-in-law, John Mullins Burton. In 1905 he bought another drugstore in Madison in partnership with James Harvey Pride-- not the senior of that name (a state senator), but his grandson.

18. 308 Church Street (Farley-Sturdivant house) The Sears and Roebuck home

The house was built by J. Wesley Taylor of Mobile and sold to Mr. J. Pryor Farley on November 19, 1910. The Sturdivants bought the house on August 7, 1943 from Mr. and Mrs. W. C. Gatlin. The Sears and Roebuck home is in the Victorian style with a gable roof. The apex of the gables is carved fish scales and diamonds.

19. Madison Elementary School

Madison Elementary is located in the Madison Station Historic District of the City of Madison. The original structure was erected in 1936 on the previous site of Madison Training School, which was chartered on February 25, 1895 and was the second organized school in Madison. Upon its completion the school consisted of eleven classrooms, a banquet room, an auditorium, a gymnasium, and served as a high school.

20. 113 Maple Street - Thorson - Haas Home

Built just after the turn-of-the-century, the Thorson - Haas home displays all of the features found in many Madison homes. The Roy W. Thorson family was local farmers and lived in the home for many years. The home is a one and one-half story with a hipped roof extending over the veranda which is supported by six Tuscan columns. The entrance has a transom and sidelights that extend to the transom. The large front windows feature a beautiful leaded glass design across the top.

This Tour is a Walking Tour.

Madison Station Historic District Walking Tour

Created by Billie Goodson on October 27th 2020, 12:02:42 am.

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Description

This is a walking tour of Historic Madison Station. It begins downtown and then travels down Main, continues on Front, then up Buttermilk Alley. It then travels to Madison United Methodist Church and continues north on Church Street. This permits the view of many homes constructed in the late-1800's to early 1900's. It then turns to the travel toward Madison Elementary School which has served this community for many years. A huge thanks to John Rankin. John has spent a significant amount of time collecting, writing, and publishing the history of Madison. His work has formed the basis of much of what you get from this tour.

Entries on This Tour

Madison Station Historic District Walking Tour

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