Madison County

was first settled in 1724 by a group of German Lutherans who founded the Hebron Lutheran Church, the oldest Lutheran Church in America. The County was formed in 1792 and named for the family of the future president James Madison who operated a mill on the Rapidan River known as Madison Mills. Madison County enjoys some of the most dramatic landscapes in the Piedmont with quiet rolling pasture in the eastern sections of the county to rugged mountain land, much of which is part of the Shenandoah National Park. Here dramatic mountain views, rushing trout streams and rich, productive farms are the scenes one takes in from the car window or exciting hiking trails. Development seems to be leaving the County alone for the most part with large tracts of land still available and protective, zoning ordinances designed to protect the county's most valuable component, its unspoiled beauty.