Civic Advancement
The Town of Madison Board of Commissioners selected one of their body each year to serve as President until an 1876 charter amendment incorporated the “City” of Madison and vested leadership in a Mayor and Board of Aldermen (later the Mayor and City Council). In 1990, the city shifted to the City Manager - Council form of government.
With recovery following the Great Fire of 1869, the City also invested in civic improvements: a new cemetery (1880-1882); an electric plant and system (1891-1928); its own public school system (1895-1947); and a public waterworks system (1908). The City Hall & Firehouse (1887) replaced the former Town Hall, irreparably damaged by the 1886 Charleston earthquake.
When the 1939 City Hall & Firestation made the previous building obsolete, a period of commercial use was followed by the eventual restoration of the building in 1991 by the Madison-Morgan Chamber of Commerce Foundation, Inc. Chamber officer include the Madison Convention & Visitors Bureau, which operates a State Welcome Center.
Erected 2011 by City of Madison, Madison BiCentennial Commission 1809-2009.
Plaque courtesy Lat34North.com.
Original page, with additional info, here.
Photo credit: David Seibert.