Madison County Texas map
30.97° N · 95.93° W · County seat: Madisonville · 472 sq mi · Central Time
Three of Madison County's four borders are water: the Trinity River on the east, the Navasota River on the west, and Bedias Creek along the stretch of the southern line facing Walker County. Two roads cross at Madisonville in the middle — I-45 running Houston to Dallas, and SH-21 following the Spanish colonial road to Nacogdoches.
Centered near Madisonville at the I-45 and SH-21 interchange. The timber belts on the left and right edges of the county are the Navasota and Trinity river bottoms.
Where Madison County sits
This is a small county — 472 square miles, less than half the size of Leon County immediately to the north. Houston County lies northeast across the Trinity, Walker County southeast across Bedias Creek, Grimes County south, and Brazos and Robertson counties west beyond the Navasota River.
Straight-line distances from the county's center point: Bryan 33 miles southwest, College Station 34 miles southwest, Conroe 53 miles southeast, The Woodlands 62 miles southeast, Lufkin 75 miles northeast and Waco 82 miles northwest. Huntsville, just over the Walker County line, is the nearest town of any size.
The legislature created Madison County in 1853 from parts of Grimes, Leon and Walker counties, and it was organized the following year. It is named for James Madison, the fourth president of the United States, and the bill creating it was introduced by state representative Hillary Mercer Crabb.
Towns
| Place | Type | 2020 population in county |
|---|---|---|
| Madisonville | City (seat) | 4,424 |
| Midway | City | 172 |
| Normangee (part) | Town | 59 |
Only three incorporated places, and most of Normangee lies over the line in Leon County. About two-thirds of county residents live outside any town, in settlements such as North Zulch, Bedias Junction and Elwood.
Roads
- I-45 – enters from Leon County in the north and runs southeast past Madisonville into Walker County toward Huntsville. The Madisonville exits are the county's main commercial strip.
- SH-21 – the county's east–west route, crossing I-45 at Madisonville. West it runs to the Navasota River and on toward Bryan; northeast it climbs toward Midway and Crockett, following the general line of the Old San Antonio Road.
- US-190 – runs west from Madisonville toward Bryan, sharing pavement with SH-21 for part of the way.
- SH-75 – the old parallel highway beside I-45 through Madisonville.
- SH-90 – south out of Madisonville toward North Zulch and the Grimes County line at Bedias.
- SH-OSR – the surviving marked segment of the Old San Antonio Road, along the county's northern boundary with Leon County.
- Loop 160 and Loop 1853 – the business loops around Madisonville; the second is numbered for the year the county was created.
The old road to Nacogdoches
El Camino Real de los Tejas — the King's Highway, later called the Old San Antonio Road — crossed this ground long before the county existed. It ran from the Rio Grande crossing at Guerrero through San Antonio and Bastrop, over the Brazos and Navasota, and on to Nacogdoches and the Louisiana border. Its route through this area is now split between two roads: the highway signed simply SH-OSR along the Leon County line, and SH-21, which carries the modern traffic. Stephen F. Austin's colonists, Sam Houston and the Mexican army all used it. A federal historic trail designation now covers the corridor.
Bedias Creek, which forms the southeastern boundary, drains south into the Navasota and takes its name from the Bidai, the Native people who lived along it when the Spanish first came through. The creek bottom is hardwood timber and the surrounding country is post-oak savanna running to cattle pasture and hay meadow — the same land use that dominates the county today. Madisonville holds a mushroom festival each October, tied to the commercial mushroom operation that is one of the county's larger private employers.