Madison Historic District (Boundary Increase)
Also known as: See Also:Madison Historic District
Why it's listed
Madison, in the Piedmont region of Georgia about 63 miles east of Atlanta, is a small city whose historic core remains largely intact. A brick commercial center of late 19th century Italianate buildings surrounds the town square, where a 1905 Beaux Arts courthouse, a c. 1895 Romanesque jail and a 1931 post office stand. Antebellum houses, mostly Greek Revival, line Main and Academy Streets and Old Post Road, while a Victorian neighborhood lies east of the square. The Canaan area, northwest of the center, is a historic black neighborhood and includes St. Paul AME Church. Railroad depots, warehouses and a cotton oil and fertilizer complex record the town's commercial and industrial growth. The 1895 Romanesque Revival graded school, now a cultural center, reflects investment in education. The district was enlarged and re-documented in 1989, replacing a 1974 listing, and counts 366 contributing and 96 noncontributing resources.
Significance in brief: The nomination presents Madison as an intact, well-preserved Piedmont town with a wide range of architectural styles from Georgian and Federal through Greek Revival, Victorian, Craftsman and Colonial Revival. It also documents the town's development through railroad, commerce and industry, and its black communities. New survey work and historical research led to larger boundaries, added areas of significance and a new period of significance.
Machine-generated summary. This summary was generated by a language model from the official nomination document and has not been reviewed line by line by an editor. It may contain errors. Check the source document before relying on any detail. Source: nomination document (PDF) · National Archives catalog entry. NRHP reference 89002159, listed January 8, 1990. Summary generated October 2026 (model claude-sonnet-5-5, prompt v1.0-2026-10-29, confidence medium).
Key facts
| Address | Roughly Main St., Old Post Rd., Academy St., Dixie St., and Washington St., Madison |
|---|---|
| County | Morgan County |
| Listed | January 8, 1990 |
| Reference number | 89002159 |
| Resource type | District |
| Architect / builder | J. S. Golucke and Company (Morgan County Courthouse, built by Winder Lumber Company); Tinsley and Wilson of Lynchburg, Virginia (Madison Graded School); E. P. Neal (St. Paul AME Church) |
| Architectural style | Greek Revival, Italianate, Queen Anne, Eastlake, Romanesque, Commercial Style, Bungalow/Craftsman |
| Areas of significance | Community Planning and Development, Landscape Architecture, Commerce, Transportation, Politics/Government, Architecture |
| Level of significance | Local |
| Status (as stated in the nomination) | Still in mixed use: residential, commercial, government and religious functions continue. The 1895 Madison Graded School now serves as the Madison-Morgan Cultural Center. |
| Acreage | 550 |
| Within district | Madison Historic District |
| Coordinates | 33.59352, -83.47225 (NPS GIS) |
What listing means for this property
This is a historic district. Buildings within its boundary are either contributing (they add to the district's significance) or non-contributing. Owners of contributing income-producing buildings can claim the 20% federal rehabilitation tax credit; homeowners should look at state credits. National Register districts impose no design review by themselves; a local historic district ordinance, if one exists, does (the difference explained).
General information, not legal or tax advice. Rules change; confirm with your State Historic Preservation Office or a qualified adviser.
Sources and further reading
- National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places database (snapshot May 2026), reference 89002159.
- Nomination form (PDF, National Archives) — catalog entry
- Wikipedia article (used for cross-checking only; text not reproduced here)
- Wikidata Q6728014
- This listing as JSON
Last updated October 2026. Found an error? See the editorial policy for how to report it.