Madison Parish, Louisiana

===European settlement to present===

===European settlement to present===

[[Image:James Madison.jpg|left|thumb|125px|[[James Madison]], namesake of Madison Parish, Louisiana]]

The parish is named for former [[U.S. President]] [[James Madison]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Gannett|first=Henry|title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ|year=1905|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n195 196]|access-date=October 16, 2016}}</ref> As was typical of northern areas of Louisiana, and especially along the Mississippi River, it was developed for cotton agriculture on large plantations worked by large groups of enslaved African Americans. In 1932 a local news writer stated, "Madison still has plantations. They have not vanished entirely. Good roads dot the parish and some owners live in Tallulah, using automobiles to supervise their extensive holdings. When extra help is needed, trucks are used to carry the negroes back and forth."<ref>{{Cite news |date=1932-12-23 |title=Old Record Book Tells Story of Adventure, Romance, Tragedy |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-madison-journal-old-record-book-tell/152360926/ |access-date=2024-08-02 |work=The Madison Journal |pages=2}}</ref>

The parish is named for former [[U.S. President]] [[James Madison]].<ref>{{cite book|last=Gannett|first=Henry|title=The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ|year=1905|publisher=U.S. Government Printing Office|page=[https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_9V1IAAAAMAAJ/page/n195 196]|access-date=October 16, 2016}}</ref> As was typical of northern areas of Louisiana, and especially along the Mississippi River, it was developed for cotton agriculture on large plantations worked by large groups of enslaved African Americans. In 1932 a local news writer stated, "Madison still has plantations. They have not vanished entirely. Good roads dot the parish and some owners live in Tallulah, using automobiles to supervise their extensive holdings. When extra help is needed, trucks are used to carry the negroes back and forth."<ref>{{Cite news |date=1932-12-23 |title=Old Record Book Tells Story of Adventure, Romance, Tragedy |url=https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-madison-journal-old-record-book-tell/152360926/ |access-date=2024-08-02 |work=The Madison Journal |pages=2}}</ref>