SM 11.4

Madison

History

Madison is a town and was the end of the Madison branch in Rockingham County, North Carolina. Except for Penn Brothers Suspender Company that came in 1914 (now Gem-Dandy, Inc.), Madison remained largely a tobacco town until after World War II. You can read more about the history of Madison at the town’s official web site.

The ICC valuation reports indicate that there was a capacity for forty cars.

For the end of a lightly used branch, Madison got a surprisingly fine depot. The 1916 valuation recorded it as a Type 5 combination station — the larger plan also used at Liberty — built to a print number (No. 15-429) that appears nowhere else on the A&Y. Its roof was laid in asbestos shingles set by the “French” method, its gutters were copper, and it stood on unusually tall brick piers to suit a hillside site. The building was even wired throughout for electric light, with brass ceiling fixtures and glass shades. And yet the surveyors added the line that tells the branch’s whole story: “Fixtures not in use, no current supply.” Madison had the fanciest little depot the A&Y ever built, wired in 1916 for an electric light it had no current to run. The branch was abandoned October 24, 1936.

Madison depot, circa 1977, looking toward the station building

Here is the only photo I’ve found of the Madison depot. This photo circa 1977.

Track Diagram

An image from the ICC valuation maps gives a fair idea of how the track and depot were laid out. There was a section supply house, an oil house, and a combination station. Apparently, there was a Standard Oil company tanks, roller mill, and a wholesale grocery north of the tracks. Click on the thumbnail to view a larger detailed image.

Industries

A Southern Railway Shippers Guide from 1916 indicates that nine industries were located in Madison and may have used the A&Y for delivering and receiving products by rail. The N&W also served this town.

Sanborn fire insurance map detail, Madison, N.C., 1934, showing the A&Y / N&W railroad corridor along S. Water Street with Standard Oil Co., Sinclair Oil Co., Madison Roller Mills, grocery warehouses, and the wholesale grocery district — Sanborn Fire Insurance Map, Madison, N.C., 1934 (Sheet 2). The A&Y / N&W railroad corridor along S. Water Street, showing Standard Oil Co. and Sinclair Oil Co. bulk plants with sidings, Madison Roller Mills, and the wholesale grocery warehouse district. Click to view full size. *Source: Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division.*

Industry type	Goods shipped	Company name
clay pit	clay	Pomona Terra Cotta Co.
flour and grist mill	flour and bran	B. F. Reynolds
grain and hay dealer	grain and hay	T. D. Meador Grocery Co.
grain and hay dealer	grain and hay	Madison Grocery Co.
planing mill	miscellaneous	C. H. Fallin
planing mill	miscellaneous	J. A. Pratt
sawmill	pine	C. H. Fallin
sawmill	pine	J. A. Pratt
sawmill	pine	E. P. Cahill
chair factory and heading mill	lumber and furniture stock	Cahill Chair & Lumber Co. ③
bulk petroleum storage	petroleum products	Standard Oil Co. ③
bulk petroleum storage	petroleum products	Sinclair Oil Co. ③
bulk petroleum storage	petroleum products	Gulf Refining Co. ③
roller / flour mill	flour, feed, meal	Madison Roller Mills ③
ice manufacturing	ice	Shelton Ice Co. ③
tobacco warehouse	leaf tobacco	Planters Tobacco Warehouse ③
tobacco warehouse	leaf tobacco	Webster’s Tobacco Warehouse ③
tobacco sales warehouse	leaf tobacco	Prices Tobacco Sales Warehouse ③
wholesale grocery warehouse	groceries	Grocery Warehouse (operator unidentified) ③

③ Identified from Sanborn fire insurance maps; not in the original shippers guide source. Source: Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps, Madison, N.C. (Library of Congress).

Odds and Ends

I don’t know anything much about Madison. If you know anything about this township or the businesses and industries that might have used the railroad for shipping or receiving products, please let me know.