Madison
Incorporated in 1914, Madison is best known as the home of Scott Winfield Bond, who was born into slavery and became a wealthy farmer, landowner and businessman in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Bond owned several properties and businesses, including five cotton mill plants and a sawmill, leading him to become Arkansas’ first African American millionaire. He died in 1933 and is buried in the Scott Bond Cemetery in Madison, listed in the National Register of Historic Places.
Named for President James Madison, the town is located on the western bank of the St. Francis River at the foot of Crowley’s Ridge in eastern Arkansas. It is 38 miles southwest of West Memphis and is on the St. Francis County Loop of the Great River Road National Scenic Byway.
In the early 1800s, Madison was a busy shipping point for steamboats and ferries. At one time it served as the county seat of St. Francis County, but was replaced by Forrest City in 1874. Due to the great animosity over the relocation, the safe and county records supposedly were moved in the middle of the night to the new courthouse location. Though the town dwindled after the relocation, Madison was somewhat revitalized when the Rock Island railroad was completed between Madison and Little Rock. The 1880 census shows 310 residents, making it the largest community in the area.
During the 1930s, a vehicular bridge over the St. Francis River on Highway 70 became part of a highway development project. One of only three swing-span bridges in Arkansas, it was the main bridge for east-west traffic until Interstate 40 was built in the 1950s. It is listed in the National Historic Register.
The Madison area has prehistoric significance as well. Millions of years ago, the entire Delta area was part of the Gulf of Mexico. As the waters receded and the area filled in with river sediment, ocean-bottom materials were buried with the sediment and can be seen in some of the stream banks along Crowley’s Ridge. Some of the greatest fossil finds have been at Crow Creek, west of Madison, including a large prehistoric clam shell now on display at the St. Francis County Museum.
