Madison County was formed on January 13, 1846. It has been self-governed since 1849. It was named after James Madison, the fourth President of the United States. Hiram Hurst, a suspected murderer, arsonist and hog thief was the first white settler in Madison County, having come from Missouri about April 15, 1846.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of, of which is land and is water.
The 2010 census recorded a population of 15,679 in the county, with a population density of. There were 6,554 housing units, of which 6,025 were occupied.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 14,019 people, 5,326 households, and 3,925 families in the county. The population density was 25 people per square mile. There were 5,661 housing units at an average density of 10 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was 98.57% White, 0.09% Black or African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.19% from other races, and 0.68% from two or more races. 0.75% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. Of the 5,326 households 34.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 63.90% were married couplesliving together, 7.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.30% were non-families. 22.70% of households were one person and 11.70% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.58 and the average family size was 3.04. The age distribution was 27.10% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 27.40% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 15.20% 65 or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.10 males. The median household income was $41,845 and the median family income was $48,289. Males had a median income of $31,126 versus $24,095 for females. The per capita income for the county was $19,357. About 4.60% of families and 6.70% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.60% of those under age 18 and 10.40% of those age 65 or over.
Covered bridges
There are only six extant covered bridges in Madison County of the original nineteen:
Cedar Bridge built 1883, destroyed 2002, rebuilt 2004, long. The rebuilt bridge was destroyed by a fire in 2017.
Holliwell Bridge built 1880, long. Featured in the 1995 movieThe Bridges of Madison County.
Imes Bridge built 1870, long.
Roseman Covered Bridge built 1883, long. This is the best-known one, as it is featured in the 1995 movie The Bridges of Madison County.
The remaining covered bridges were designed by Harvey P. Jones and George K. Foster, with the following exceptions - Eli Cox built the Cutler-Donahoe Bridge, and J. P. Clark built the Imes Bridge.
The population ranking of the following table is based on the 2010 census of Madison County. †county seat
Rank
City/Town/etc.
Municipal type
Population
1
†Winterset
City
5,190
2
Earlham
City
1,450
3
St. Charles
City
653
4
Truro
City
485
5
Patterson
City
130
6
East Peru
City
125
7
Macksburg
City
113
8
Bevington
City
63
Politics
For most of its history, Madison County has primarily supported the Republican Party in presidential elections. From 1896 to 1960, the county only failed to back the party's candidate in 1932 when Herbert Hoover was defeated in a national landslide for reelection by Franklin D. Roosevelt. The county was much more of a swing area between 1964 & 1996, voting for the national winner in every presidential election between 1964 & 2004 aside from 1988 when Michael Dukakis was boosted to an inflated margin of victory statewide by a farm crisis. Since the start of the second millennium, Republicans have carried the county in every presidential election. Donald Trump also produced the county's strongest Republican presidential victory since 1952 in 2016, winning by a margin of over 30 percent.
