Madison County, Missouri

Madison County is a county in the so-called "Lead Belt" of southeastern Missouri. It had a population of 12,226 at the 2010 census. The county was officially organized in 1818 and named for U.S. President James Madison; the "Lead Belt" name derives from the lead mines that have long existed in the area. Fredericktown is the county seat and largest city.

History[edit]

By the early 18th century, it was generally known that the northeastern Ozarks contained large quantities of lead, which the French and Spanish colonial authorities of the Louisiana Territory made efforts to exploit, as did some French traders and entrepreneurs operating out of St. Louis and Ste. Genevieve. The first such enterprise began at Mine La Motte no later than the 1720s, which can claim to be the first functioning lead mine west of the Mississippi River. The area of future Madison County lay within the Ste. Genevieve district, and the authorities there allowed some additional mining operations, though these were generally short-lived. Permanent settlement began about 1799 along Saline Creek and the Little St. Francis River, these first arrivals being mostly farmers from the United States and the existing French communities. Soon after 1800, a village was established near the Little St. Francis, by the name of St. Michael. It was also at this time that more extensive mining operations began at Mine La Motte, a few miles away.^[1]

The lead mines were profitable enough that the population and prosperity of the region grew rapidly, boosted as well by local agriculture. The village of St. Michael, damaged by flooding, was eventually moved a short distance away onto higher ground and renamed Fredericktown in 1819. By this time, the Missouri territorial legislature had decided to organize it as a new county, which was officially formed on December 14, 1818 and named in honor of President Madison. Being near the center of the county, Fredericktown was soon chosen as the county seat. Originally extending west to the Black River, the county had more or less assumed its present boundaries by 1867, after the western strip had been added to neighboring Iron County.^[2]

Madison County's development for a long time revolved around its mineral deposits. Besides lead (access to which would lead to some minor actions between Union and Confederate forces during the Civil War), veins of silver, tungsten, and wolframite have been discovered; mining for the latter two was especially important in the county during World War II, when access to other deposits was cut off. Though most of the mining operations today are concentrated further north and west, with the last mine in the Fredericktown-Mine La Motte region closing in 1961, it continues to be an important element of the local economy.^[3]

Geography[edit]

Madison County is located in southeastern Missouri, in the northeastern part of the Ozark Mountains. It is bordered on the north by St. Francois County, on the northeast by Perry County, on the east by Bollinger County, on the south by Wayne County, and on the west by Iron County. The total area is 497.6 square miles, including 494.39 of land and 3.21 of water.^[4] The St. Francis River is the most significant waterway, with sizable tributaries including the Little St. Francis River and Marble and Saline Creeks. The county is roughly in the shape of a square, with a few small irregularities. It is a part of the St. Francois Mountains that make up the eastern Ozarks and contain the state's highest peaks. Generally speaking, the western half is more mountainous, with multiple hills rising to over 1200 feet in height. Black Mountain, west of the St. Francis River near the Iron County line, is the highest peak in the county at 1,502 feet above sea level, and by some measurements actually has the largest difference in elevation from the base to the summit (about 962 feet) of any mountain in the state.^[5]

The two main highways in the county are U.S. Route 67, running from north to south, and Missouri State Highway 72, running from west to east; both roads meet at Fredericktown.

Like the rest of the "Lead Belt," Madison County possesses a wide variety of mineral resources. Lead is the most common, but silver, zinc, tungsten, titanium ore, and even small amounts of gold have been discovered and mined in the area. Most of these have been discovered in the northern half of the county, particularly in the Fredericktown-Mine La Motte area and along the St. Francis. Mount Devon, just southwest of Fredericktown, is home to the world's only known deposit of Devonite, a colorful igneous rock.^[6]

Demographics[edit]

At the 2010 census, Madison County had a total population of 12,226, with 4,898 households and 3,351 families. The population density was 24.6 per square mile. There were 5,970 housing units, or about 12.0 per square mile. The racial makeup of the county was about 97.11% White, 0.28% African-American, 0.36% Native American, 0.34% Asian, 0.02% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 1.05% from some other race, and 0.83% from two or more races. Hispanics of any race were 2.00% of the population.

The median age in the county was 41.0 years. 23.97% of the population was under the age of 18, 8.47% was between the ages of 18 and 24, 22.45% was between the ages of 25 and 44, 27.38% was between the ages of 45 and 64, and 17.72% was 65 years old or older. The sex ratio was 49.1% male, 50.9% female.^[7]

According to the 2010 American Community Survey, the median income in the county was $33,456 for a household, and $39,594 for a family. Males had a median income of $32,513 versus $22,405 for females. The unemployment rate was 7.9%. The per capita income was $17,239. 19.3% of the population was below the poverty line, including 28.6% of those under the age of 18 and 16.3% of those 65 years old or older.^[8]

Communities[edit]

Madison County is home to six incorporated communities, including two cities, two villages, and two census-designated places (CDPs).

Cities[edit]

• Fredericktown (county seat)
• Marquand

Villages[edit]

• Cobalt
• Junction City

CDPs[edit]

• Cherokee Pass
• Mine La Motte

Government[edit]

Local government in Madison County is provided by the elected officials. At present these are dominated by the Republican Party, which holds all but four of the elected positions.^[9]

Countywide official	Name	Party
Assessor	Sue Harmon Yount	Republican
Circuit Clerk	Tenia Hermann	Republican
County Clerk	Donal E. Firebaugh	Democratic
Collector	Debby Boone	Republican
Commissioner (presiding)	Jason Green	Republican
Commissioner (District 1)	Tom Stephens	Republican
Commissioner (District 2)	Larry Kemp	Republican
Coroner	Collin Follis	Democratic
Prosecuting Attorney	M. Dwight Robbins	Republican
Public Administrator	Carol LaChance	Republican
Recorder	Saundra Ivison	Republican
Sheriff	Katy McCutcheon	Democratic
Surveyor	William Douglas McFarland	Democratic
Treasurer	Jessica Stevens	Republican

At the state level, Madison County is part of the 145th District in the Missouri House of Representatives, which also includes Bollinger and part of Perry Counties. It is currently represented by Rick Francis (R-Perryville), who was re-elected to a second term in November 2018, defeating Democrat Ronald G. Pember.

Candidate	Party	Votes	Vote Percentage
Rick Francis	Republican	11,381	82.316%
Ronald G. Pember	Democratic	2,445	17.684%

Francis slightly underperformed his average margin in Madison County, winning 3,394 votes compared to 960 for Pember.

In the Missouri State Senate, Madison County is part of the 27th District, which also includes Bollinger, Cape Girardeau, Scott and Wayne Counties. It is currently represented by Wayne Wallingford (R-Cape Girardeau), who was re-elected in November 2016, defeating Democrat Donnie Owens.

Candidate	Party	Votes	Vote Percentage
Wayne Wallingford	Republican	56,750	74.440%
Donnie Owens	Democratic	19,486	25.560%

Wallingford significantly underperformed in Madison County, winning 3,377 votes to 1,751 for Owens.

At the federal level, Madison County is part of Missouri's 8th Congressional District, which includes most of southeast and south-central Missouri. It is represented by Jason Smith (R-Salem), who won re-election in November 2018, defeating Democrat Kathy Ellis.

Candidate	Party	Votes	Vote Percentage
Jason Smith	Republican	194,042	73.39%
Kathy Ellis	Democratic	66,151	25.019%
Jonathan Shell	Libertarian	4,206	1.591%

Smith roughly matched his average margin in Madison County, winning 72.906% of the vote.^[10]

Political Culture

As the above numbers indicate, Madison County is solidly Republican at the state and federal level, though slightly less so than other counties in southern Missouri. This can be attributed to the importance of mining in the local economy, which as in the rest of the Lead Belt encouraged the growth of labor unions whose members tend to vote Democratic. It was a swing county in presidential elections through much of the 20th century, though since 2000 it has steadily trended Republican, with its mostly rural, middle- and working-class population being alienated by the Democratic Party's social radicalism. In the 2016 general election, the county overwhelmingly supported Donald Trump, who won 77.09% of the vote.^[11]

Like much of southern Missouri, Madison County can be included within the Bible Belt, and tends to combine social conservatism with economic populism. In 2004, it voted overwhelmingly in favor of Constitutional Amendment 2, which recognized marriage as between a man and a woman only—the measure passed in Madison County with 84.78% support. In 2006, while the state overall narrowly passed an amendment to fund embryonic stem-cell research, the county decisively defeated the measure with 57.60% voting against. At the same time, it often supports economic measures that appear to favor the working and middle class--somewhat more so than elsewhere in Southeast Missouri, given its economic background. In the November 2018 election, the county narrowly approved a proposed increase in the state minimum wage, with 51.31% voting against (it passed the state at large). These results are generally in line with the rest of southern Missouri.

References[edit]