Located just one hour from Atlanta, Madison is the showcase of Georgia's Antebellum Trail and was once described as "the most cultured stop on the stagecoach route from Charleston to New Orleans." Not much has changed since that time before the Civil War. Madison's pre–Civil War and Victorian homes, as well as its tastefully restored downtown, offer a wide range of shops, tastes, sights, and services that delight visitors from around the country and abroad. When visiting, stop in at the 1895 Romanesque-style school house (now the Cultural Center), Rogers House (1809), Rose Cottage (1890), and Heritage Hall (1811). Madison is also home to a very large agricultural community that includes farms that sell many of their homegrown goods to restaurants. madisonga.org

Featured Attractions

Heritage Hall
This Greek Revival home was built in 1811 by Dr. Elijah Evans Jones, a prominent physician in Madison. An integral part of Madison's Historic District, Heritage Hall is noted for "window etchings" that appear on windows in seven of the eight rooms. Like many antebellum homes in the area, Heritage Hall was originally part of an intown farm on four acres. It remained a private residence until it was donated in 1977.

Rogers House
Built by Rueben Rogers in 1809, the house is a fine example of the Piedmont Plain–style architecture seen throughout the rural South. Designed as a two-over-two style, census records show that eighteen people lived in the house in 1820. The house pre-dates the Morgan County Courthouse by 100 years. It has been restored using photos and records from the archives and looks as it appeared in 1873.

Rose Cottage
Adeline Rose built her house in 1891. Little is known of her before this time, when she earned her living by taking in washing and ironing at 50 cents a load. It has been very important to save this little cottage built out of the labor of love of a woman who was born into slavery.

Photo: Madison Oaks Inn, courtesy of the Madison-Morgan CVB