Category: History

Photo Courtesy of Florida Memory Ellaville was located on U.S. 90 beside the Suwannee River and was a town once bursting with activity in the 1800’s. Pictured is the Hillman Bridge that…

For more than 150 years, tobacco was a chief agricultural product in north Florida. While Gadsden County is often associated with shade-grown tobacco, Madison County also contributed to this industry, as it…

Although Florida is most known for its tropical storms, the Sunshine State has experienced many natural disasters, including tornadoes. Some of the most destructive tornadoes have struck Florida, reportedly during the spring…

The tombstones of our ancestors were made to create a lasting memorial to the lives of those lost. But when they become distressed by time and weather, many of these stones become…

Built in the late 1800s by W.T. Davis for his two sons, the W.T. Davis Opera House building was donated to the Treasures of Madison County from Judge Charles McClure of Tallahassee…

First appeared in the March 10, 1961 issue of the Madison Enterprise-Recorder. In 1844, the first real estate development in Madison County occurred. Within a short distance from the Suwannee river, which…

Concord Missionary Baptist Church was constituted on June 20, 1841 after Richard Johnson Mays recognized the need for a church in the north end of Madison County. Mays donated 20 acres of…

During World War II, Floridians of all races and civilians both played roles in national defense. With over a thousand miles of coastline, Florida was vulnerable to enemy air attacks; long-range bombers…

The telephone was introduced to the world after Alexander Graham Bell made his historical first phone call to his assistant and said the words, “Mr. Watson, come here, I want to see…

“The cultivation of flowers and trees is the cultivation of the good, the beautiful and the ennobling in man, and for one, I wish to see this culture become universal,” said J….

William Carlton Smith, son of William Coffee Smith and Elizabeth Virginia Martin, wrote articles for the Madison Enterprise-Recorder. He was married to Ida Denson and died on Dec. 31, 1963 at the…

In 1867, Congress passed a series of laws known as the Reconstruction Acts. These laws required former Confederate states to dissolve existing state governments, register eligible men to vote, whether white or…

Each year, Earth Day, April 22, marks the anniversary of the birth of the modern environmental movement in 1970. The height of counterculture in the United States, 1970 brought the death of…

Iced tea is a Southern favorite that completes any meal, no matter what kind of weather it is outside. Floridians and visitors alike guzzle down an immeasurable number of gallons of tea…

Today, Cherry Lake is a home to one of Florida’s most spirited 4-H camps since 1937 but even before that, it was booming with life. Cherry Lake was originally named “Ocklawilla” by…

Thomas and Elizabeth Graham, residents  of Cherry Lake since the 1970s, will have been married for 70 years on April 7. The Graham couple have lived in their cozy home on Cherry…

While it’s true that Florida, during the Civil War, was a critical source of beef, salt and other necessities for the Confederate Army, that’s not the whole story — Florida’s human commitment…

Dr. David Howell Yates, M.D. opened his first sanitarium in Madison in 1914, which is located at 279 NE Livingston Street. Dr. Yates brought the first static electric machine to the state…