| Madison County | |
| Organized December
14, 1818, (effective January 1, 1819) from Cape Girardeau and Ste.
Genevieve counties and named for United States President James Madison.
County Seat: Fredericktown Address: Madison County |
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| Photograph | |
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| History | |
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Madison County held its first Circuit
Court meetings in homes. The County Court organized in 1821, and it too
met in homes until 1822. Madison County's first courthouse was a brick
structure, built of handmade bricks from the area in 1822; it continued
in use until J. F. Boggs was paid $25 for tearing it down in 1899 to
make way for the new courthouse. The building originally had a cupola,
which was removed February 1838.
This style building, square with a hip roof, cupola, and regularly placed windows and doors, and sometimes with transverse halls, was one of the most popular courthouse designs in Missouri. Madison County's measured about 50 feet square, with the principal entrance facing south. There were four rooms and a north-south hall on the ground floor; the courtroom was on the second floor. The building continued in use until the end of the century. According to a turn-of-the-century county clerk, there is no record of the builder or the cost, but construction was financed by the sale of county-owned lots. September 5, 1899, Madison Countians voted in favor of a new courthouse, and the County Court selected Theodore C. Link to prepare plans. Link, a well-educated and trained St. Louis architect, came to Missouri in the 1870s. Lewis Miller, of Iron County, was awarded the building contract for $18,093. Constructed of red brick, the building measures 66 by 76 feet; the principal entrance is on the south; offices open off a north-south hall. The courtroom, about 52 by 52 feet, occupies the central portion of the second floor; a small office, and the jury and witness rooms are on the east and west. Room occupancy has changed, but the basic plan remains the same. Final costs amounted to approximately $22,000. Copyright 2002 University of Missouri. Published by University Extension, University of Missouri-Columbia. |
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| Additional History | |
| The Madison County Courthouse in the small county seat of Fredericktown, Missouri (population 3,950) was built in 1899 by St. Louis architect Theodore Link. The preservation of the Courthouse is a demonstration of the capability of residents of even small counties and towns to mount a major capital undertaking. Led by the local Foundation for Historic Preservation, a 1/2 cent capital improvements proposal was presented to the voters in 1988 for the restoration of the courthouse. It passed by a 2 to 1 margin. The restoration was completed in 1992 at a cost of over 2 million dollars. | |
| Records at Courthouse | |
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Recorder
of Deeds: Index
to deeds, 1819-1888; Deed records, 1819-1890; Marriage records,
1821-1916. Clerk
of the County Court:
Register of births and stillbirths, 1883-1900; Permanent record of
births, 1883-1900; Register of deaths, 1883-1892; Permanent record of
deaths, 1883-1900. Clerk
of the
Circuit Court: Index to circuit court records, 1845-1915; Circuit
court records, 1827-1915. The minutes of the Madison County Commission meetings have been microfilmed and are available at the Ozark Regional Library in Fredericktown. |
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| More Links | |
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Birth & Death Records Database Search
for Madisonn County on Archives'
Online Catalog Roll
by Roll Listing of Microfilm Missouri Birth & Death Records Database: Search & Record Availability |
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