Posted March 28, 200718 yr Walking tour highlights Madison's majestic glory as historic river town Courier-Journal, The (Louisville, KY) April 24, 2002 Author: MOSS DALE MADISON, Ind. Madison was not the only Ohio River town built with limestone window caps, with fencing and verandas of iron, with marble fireplaces and sunken gardens. Its distinction is that it has not been rebuilt. What's new in Madison instead is a special spotlight on what's old. A twostage, 66-stop, selfguided walking tour has been plotted. The looping routes and architectural riches are detailed in a slick souvenir booklet.
March 28, 200718 yr Downtown Madison named National Historic Landmark Courier-Journal, The (Louisville, KY) April 12, 2006 Author: Grace Schneider Feel of Americana lands prestigious designation By Grace Schneider [email protected] The Courier-Journal MADISON, Ind. Madison's downtown has been named a National Historic Landmark District, the highest honor bestowed in historic preservation circles. The Ohio River city's downtown, with its array of 19th-century homes and businesses, has been on the National Register of Historic Places for three decades. But the landmark designation recognizes the city as a rare piece of Americana.
March 31, 200718 yr I haven't yet visited Madison, and that's an oversight I need to remedy. I've done a few tours of Southern Indiana, but there's a lot to see in that area, and I like to spend some time in the various places and absorb them. I have been to New Harmony, and it took me two days to soak that all in; in addition to showcasing a rich heritage, it's a functioning town with a lot of charm and good cultural amenities.
March 31, 200718 yr A little know factoid is that modern Madison was a node in the "Defense Community" (AKA military industrial complex). Just north of town was the Jefferson Proving Ground, which was a very large installation that used to do live ordnance testing for the Army. The post was mostly open country extending as far north as Versailles but the cantonement area was closer to Madison. This was probably a big employer before it was closed via one of the BRAC rounds. I was told that ;reparing the site for excess was going to be a pain due to all the unexploded ordnance on site. Another interesting aspect is the big coal-fired powerplant just west of town, on the river. That was built by the feds to provide power for the nuclear weapons program. There was, apparently, a number of installations supporting the nuke program in the Ohio Valley, and the regional electricity supply was insufficient to support this, so the power plant was built to pump more juice into the regional power grid.
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