James Michael Wisenbaker Contributor This is the first article in a series taken from Wisenbaker’s memoirs about archaeological digs at Hutto Pond. In the summer of 1971, the Division of Archives, History…
Category: History
Glass bottles: half full, half empty or just dangerous?
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com Many Madison County residents of the early 1900s could attest to the fact that the glass bottles of their day held all types of things, some of which were…
Wedding plans derailed by tragedy
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com Madison County readers were saddened by the headlines in the Madison paper in April of 1902. W.E. Howell, a flagman for the Seaboard Air Line Road, was killed in…
Passing on the Mantle: Remembering the Heroes of the Past
Rebekah Sheats Contributor Colin Kelly Here’s one such story many have heard before. It’s the short but heroic tale of Captain Colin P. Kelly, known as the first American hero of WWII….
Dreams of a jailbreak thwarted
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com In March of 1902, Madison sometimes resembled the fictitious community of Mayberry, from the Andy Griffith Show. Our version of Barney Fife was Deputy Sheriff Mike Bass, who slept…
Murder on the Greenville express
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com On Nov. 11, 1901, two prominent citizens of Madison County, known for a lengthy feud with each other, incidentally boarded a South Georgia train bound for Greenville. Joel H….
History of the Madison County Courthouse
Zackery Peterson Contributor Madison is one of three Florida counties that has the same name as the county seat. The county was established on December 26, 1827, as the state’s fourteenth county…
The storm brewing in Hamilton County killed President Lincoln
Lee Trawick news@greenepublishing.com In 1859, a mild, meek-looking religious family moved to a small village named Bellville, in Hamilton County. The family’s name was Powell. Among the children in the family was…
Pastor finds greener pasture
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com Rev. L.B. Plumer, a former pastor of Madison First Baptist Church, certainly moved on to greener pastures after moving to Buffalo, N.Y. Plumer was seeing “green” when he was…
Tragedies and mischief mark Christmas of 1901
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com In the weeks before Christmas of 1901, the joy of the season was diminished by a couple of tragedies in the area, as well as a bit of mischief….
Brown dies in tragic accident
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com Richard Brown, a well-known local resident, fell victim to a tragic accident while bird hunting with friends on a Sunday afternoon in December of 1901. He had spent the…
Parramore avoids tragedy
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com Young John Burton Parramore was playfully rounding a corner on a cold October morning in 1901, when the fun suddenly came to a halt. He had touched an iron…
Spooked horse gives local men a wild ride
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com While traffic accidents are common fare these days, back in 1901, the traveling was done by foot or by horse, minimizing the occurrence of such events. But, every horse…
Local residents fought racism
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com In 1904, Rev. J.P. Bresnahan, a Diocesan missionary, began establishing churches in North and Central Florida. In the beginning, services were held in private homes and at the courthouse…
Florida Normal Institute: Where Madison High School began
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com In 1850, Madison Lodge Number 11, F.&A.M. founded the St. Johns Seminary of Learning at 202 North Duval St., in Madison. At its height, the site contained a school…
Local government begins to take shape in 1830
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com The first post office in Madison County was established in Hickstown on April 19, 1830, with Abram Bellamy being the first postmaster of what was the first unofficial county…
Way Back When
Jan. 20, 1961 Clayton W. Jones, Jr., of Madison, is among twelve students at the Duke University of Law School, who have been announced as recipients of Law School Scholarships. Mr. and…
Spanish Moss has been hanging around for centuries
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com Spanish Moss is common to Madison County and the deep south. Through the centuries, it has been called many things. Native Americans called it “itla-okla,” which meant “tree hair.”…
Pictures from the past
Camp Suwannee Store of Ellaville, Fla. from 1922. [www.floridamemory.com/Courtesy]
Gypsy Rose Lee gave Madison a surprise visit
Mickey Starling reporter3@greenepublishing.com Gypsy Rose Lee made her claim to fame in the 1930s as a burlesque performer. She was dubbed an “intellectual stripper” because she did more talking than stripping. It…