When was Madison County founded?

Madison County was founded in 1821, formed from Hardin County, and named after James Madison.

What is the county seat of Madison County?

The county seat of Madison County is Jackson.

Is there an online parcel map for Madison County?

Yes. Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Property Assessments (published by the Office of Information Resources) publishes a parcel map of 49,503 parcels, rated official here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.

Has Madison County's boundary or name changed?

Madison County was created in 1821 from Hardin County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 21 later changes, most of them small boundary adjustments, chiefly involving Crockett County, Hardeman County and Gibson County.

Is my lot in a flood zone?

We do not have flood maps for Madison County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

County · code 47113

Madison CountyTennessee

Madison County is a county in Tennessee, with its seat in Jackson. It was formed on November 7, 1821, from Hardin County.

Founded1821
County seatJackson
Named forJames Madison
Land area557 sq mi + 1.5 sq mi water
Population98,823 2020 Census
Parcels mapped49,503 checked 14 October 2026

Open the free map Click any parcel in Madison County: acreage, parcel id, address and who publishes the map. No sign-in.

Updated 19 October 2026

Census outline · seat marked

History

Formed in 1821 from Hardin County

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

Madison County was created from Hardin County and named after James Madison. Over its early years, it lost territory to the creation of Dyer, Hardeman, and Haywood Counties, then gained a small area from Haywood in 1858 and from Henderson in 1869. In 1872, it lost additional territory to the creation of Crockett County.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; the 5 that matter most are shown first.

1821
Madison County created Madison created from Hardin and Non-County Area 4; parts of Hardin and Non-County Area 4 became Non-County Area 12 attached to Madison for administrative and judicial purposes.
from Hardin
7 November 1821 · Tenn. Acts 1821, 14th assy., 1st sess., pub., ch. 32/pp. 39-44
1823
Lost territory Madison lost part of Non-County Area 12 attachment to creation of Dyer and Hardeman.
to Dyer to Hardeman
16 October 1823 · Tenn. Acts 1823, 15th assy., 1st sess., ch. 108, secs. 1, 5-6/pp. 113-114
1824
Lost territory Madison lost Non-County Area 12 attachment to creation of Haywood. Non-County Area 12 eliminated ending its attachment to Madison.
to Haywood
1 January 1824 · Tenn. Acts 1823, 15th assy., 1st sess., ch. 145/p. 142 and ch. 206/p.184
1872
Lost territory Madison lost to creation of Crockett.
to Crockett
19 February 1872 · Tenn. Acts 1871, 37th assy., 1st sess., ch. 132, secs. 1-2, 4/pp. 148-150; HRS Tenn., Crockett, 5-6
1882
Lost territory Madison lost to creation of Chester.
to Chester
1 April 1882 · Tenn. Acts 1879, 41st assy., 1st sess., ch. 42, secs. 1-2, 4, 15/pp. 59-60, 63; Goodspeed [E], 808; "John Brown et al. v. Joel F. Hamlett et al." in Tenn. Rpts., 76:731-738

Show all 23 changes (18 more, mostly small adjustments)

1821
Madison County created Madison created from Hardin and Non-County Area 4; parts of Hardin and Non-County Area 4 became Non-County Area 12 attached to Madison for administrative and judicial purposes.
from Hardin
7 November 1821 · Tenn. Acts 1821, 14th assy., 1st sess., pub., ch. 32/pp. 39-44
1822
Changed Part of Non-County Area 10 detached from Carroll and added to Non-County Area 12 attached to Madison.
Carroll
23 August 1822 · Tenn. Acts 1822, 14th assy., 2d sess., ch. 199/p. 157
1823
Lost territory Madison lost part of Non-County Area 12 attachment to creation of Dyer and Hardeman.
to Dyer to Hardeman
16 October 1823 · Tenn. Acts 1823, 15th assy., 1st sess., ch. 108, secs. 1, 5-6/pp. 113-114
1823
Boundary clarified Madison boundaries clarified (no change).
no change
13 November 1823 · Tenn. Acts 1823, 15th assy., 1st sess., ch. 206/p. 184
1824
Lost territory Madison lost Non-County Area 12 attachment to creation of Haywood. Non-County Area 12 eliminated ending its attachment to Madison.
to Haywood
1 January 1824 · Tenn. Acts 1823, 15th assy., 1st sess., ch. 145/p. 142 and ch. 206/p.184
1845
Changed Legislature authorized creation of Crockett from Madison and three other counties; in October 1846, Circuit Court Judge of Madison decreed Crockett's creation unconstitutional.
Crockett
20 December 1845 · Tenn. Acts 1845, 26th assy., ch. 25, secs. 1-2, 4/pp. 66-67; Goodspeed [F], 832; HRS Tenn., Crockett, 3-4
1852
Changed Legislature authorized creation of Christian from Madison and three other counties; creation did not take effect. Legislature again authorized creation of Crockett from Madison and three other counties; creation did not take effect.
ChristianCrockett
24 February 1852 · Tenn. Acts 1851, 29th assy., ch. 219, sec. 1/p. 327; ch. 195, secs. 1-2, 14/pp. 288, 292 and no. 17/p. 730; HRS Tenn., Crockett, 4; McBride, 8
1858
Gained territory Madison gained from Haywood to accommodate local resident.
from Haywood
4 March 1858 · Tenn. Acts 1857, 32d assy., pub., ch. 47, secs. 1-11/pp. 57-59 and ch. 83, sec. 3/p. 91
1866
Changed Legislature again authorized creation of Crockett from Madison and three other counties; creation did not take effect.
Crockett
25 January 1866 · Tenn. Acts 1865, 34th assy., 2d sess., pub., ch. 19, secs. 2-3/p. 25; HRS Tenn., Crockett, 4
1869
Gained territory Madison gained small area from Henderson. Legislature authorized creation of Grant from Madison and three other counties; creation did not take effect.
from Hendersonfrom Grant
25 February 1869 · Tenn. Acts 1868, 35th assy., 2d sess., pub., ch. 39, secs. 1-3, 5, 15/pp. 53-54, 56; McBride, 8
1870
Changed Legislature authorized creation of Etheridge from Madison and four other counties; creation did not take effect.
Etheridge
6 June 1870 · Tenn. Acts 1870, 36th assy., 2d sess., ch. 3, secs. 1-2, 4-7/pp. 9-12; McBride, 8
1870
Changed Legislature again authorized creation of Crockett from Madison and three other counties; creation did not take effect.
Crockett
7 July 1870 · Tenn. Acts 1870, 36th assy., 2d sess., ch. 89, secs. 1-2, 4/pp. 138-139; Tenn. Acts 1870, 36th assy., 3d sess., ch. 26/p. 31; HRS Tenn., Crockett, 4-5
1872
Lost territory Madison lost to creation of Crockett.
to Crockett
19 February 1872 · Tenn. Acts 1871, 37th assy., 1st sess., ch. 132, secs. 1-2, 4/pp. 148-150; HRS Tenn., Crockett, 5-6
1875
Changed Legislature authorized creation of Wisdom from Madison and three other counties; creation did not take effect.
Wisdom
23 March 1875 · Tenn. Acts 1875, 39th assy., ch. 68, secs. 1-2, 4/pp. 83-84; McBride, 9
1882
Lost territory Madison lost to creation of Chester.
to Chester
1 April 1882 · Tenn. Acts 1879, 41st assy., 1st sess., ch. 42, secs. 1-2, 4, 15/pp. 59-60, 63; Goodspeed [E], 808; "John Brown et al. v. Joel F. Hamlett et al." in Tenn. Rpts., 76:731-738
1887
Exchanged territory Madison exchanged two small areas with Gibson to accommodate local residents.
with Gibson
25 March 1887 · Tenn. Acts 1887, 45th assy., ch. 119/p. 213
1903
Gained territory Madison gained from Henderson to accommodate local resident.
from Henderson
25 March 1903 · Tenn. Acts 1903, 53d assy., ch. 186/p. 428
1907
Gained territory Madison gained from Hardeman to accommodate local resident.
from Hardeman
15 April 1907 · Tenn. Acts 1907, 55th assy., ch. 570/p. 1947
1911
Lost territory Madison lost to Crockett to accommodate local resident.
to Crockett
16 February 1911 · Tenn. Acts 1911, 57th assy., priv., ch. 97/p. 233
1921
Gained territory Madison gained from Gibson to accommodate local resident; Madison exchanged with Gibson to accommodate local resident.
from Gibson
9 April 1921 · Tenn. Acts 1921, 62d assy., priv., ch. 796/p. 2486; ch. 848/p. 2622
1931
Gained territory Madison gained small area from Hardeman (later repealed).
from Hardeman
2 July 1931 · Tenn. Acts 1931, 67th assy., priv., ch. 726/p. 1952
1937
Lost territory Madison lost to Gibson to accommodate local resident.
to Gibson
21 May 1937 · Tenn. Acts 1937, 70th assy., priv., ch. 740/p. 2276
1957
Lost territory Madison lost small area to Hardeman (later repealed).
to Hardeman
11 March 1957 · Tenn. Acts 1957, 80th assy., priv., ch. 152/p. 445

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Madison

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Parcels Official

Lot lines and tax-map numbers for 49,503 parcels from Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Property Assessments (published by the Office of Information Resources). Drawn for tax purposes: usually within a few feet of a survey, but not a survey.
edited 10 September 2026 · checked 14 October 2026
Address points Official

One point per address, 51,224 in all from TECB and local 911 districts via TNMap (tnmap_oir).
edited 6 October 2026 · checked 14 October 2026
Buildings Reference

Roof outlines traced from aerial imagery from FEMA Response Geospatial Office with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Good for seeing what is on a lot; not accurate enough to set a fence from.
checked 18 October 2026

Official: from the office that keeps the record
Good enough: a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback: a guide only; check the official record
Missing: nothing public found yet

People and land

Madison by the Census

Population

98,823 2020 Census count

Housing units

43,656 2020 Census count

Land area

557 square miles

Water area

1.5 square miles

People per sq mi

177 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

Madison County's official site

We have found the county's site but not its offices yet; start there.

County government

County government
The official website of Madison County.
co.madison.tn.us

See your own lot on these maps

Open Madison County on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.

Open the free map no sign-in Pro early access

Questions

Common questions about Madison County

When was Madison County founded?: Madison County was founded in 1821, formed from Hardin County, and named after James Madison.
What is the county seat of Madison County?: The county seat of Madison County is Jackson.
Is there an online parcel map for Madison County?: Yes. Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Property Assessments (published by the Office of Information Resources) publishes a parcel map of 49,503 parcels, rated official here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has Madison County's boundary or name changed?: Madison County was created in 1821 from Hardin County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 21 later changes, most of them small boundary adjustments, chiefly involving Crockett County, Hardeman County and Gibson County.
Is my lot in a flood zone?: We do not have flood maps for Madison County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby