Springfield-Greene
County LibraryMadison County is south of St. Francois County. The highest elevations
are west of the St. Francois. They are Daguerre Mountain, 492 feet; Blue
Mountain, 551 feet; Smith's Mountain, 432 feet; Rock Creek Mountain, 575
feet, and Black Mountain, 467 feet.
History of Southeast Missouri, 1888, Goodspeed,
p. 213.
Probably the first settlement in Madison other than the mining communities
which were continually shifting, was made by John Calloway, who came from
Kentucky, and located on Saline Creek, as early as 1799. He served as judge
of the court of quarter-sessions of Ste. Genevieve District in 1806, and
was sheriff of Madison County.
History of Southeast Missouri, 1888, Goodspeed,
p. 254.
The first white men to make exploration in what now comprises Madison County were Renault and La Motte and their companions about the early years 1721-23. They discovered minerals, principally lead, but owing to their finding no silver ore, no settlement was made at that time...
The first person of whom there is any record of his settlement upon
land in the county for agricultural purposes is John Calloway, a Kentuckian,
who in 1799 was granted land on Saline Creek at the mouth of the Little
St. Francois.
Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri,
1901, Conard, Vol. 4, pp. 157-158.
Madison County was organized by legislative act December 4, 1818, and
was named in honor of President Madison. The county then extended to Black
River, and was reduced to its present limits in 1857 when a portion of
it was included in Iron County. The first county court was held February
12, 1821, at the house of J. G. W. McCabe, the justices being William Dillon
and Henry Whitener, with Nathaniel Cook, clerk. Then the county was divided
into Castor Township, eastern part; St. Michael's, western, and Liberty,
northern part. Two new townships were added, German and Twelve Mile. St.
Francis Township was organized in 1845, Arcadia in 1848 and Union in 1850.
Arcadia and the greater parts of Union and Liberty were cut off by the
organization of Iron County in 1857. The present (1901) townships are Polk,
St. Michaels, Liberty, St. Francis, Castor, Twelve Mile and German. The
first county seat was St. Michaels and in 1819 the commissioners appointed
to locate a permanent seat of justice--Theodore F. Tong, John Burdett,
John Bennett and Henry Whitener--selected Fredericktown two and one-half
miles distant from that place. Up to 1822 courts were held in private houses
in St. Michaels. That year a brick court house was built in Fredericktown,
and in November was occupied by the court
Encyclopedia of the History of Missouri,
1901, Conard, Vol. 4, pp. 157-158.