Madison Mayor Mary Hawkins-Butler said that next week she will reveal a set of more than a half dozen historical markers that have recently been placed throughout the city of 25,000.
The markers are part of a larger aim of telling Madison’s story to residents as well as visitors.
Seven markers will be revealed next week, with two more coming at a time yet to be determined.
“It will be special,” Hawkins Butler said.
The markers come on the heels of the city building an arch with the message “Historic Madison” atop the ornate iron and brick structure.
One marker sits near the arch where Madison Parkway and Main Street meet and serves as an entrance to the downtown area where there are more markers.
Beside the downtown entrance sits the dozens of houses already under construction in The Village at Madison, located at Main Street and Madison Parkway. The Village is 25 acres with space for 75 single-family homes and 60,000 square feet of planned commercial development.
Half Shell Oyster was the first business to open in the Village in 2020.
Other tenants, including restaurants, clothing retailers, medical offices and beauty services, have expressed interest in the new buildings.
On the other side of the arch will be the new Bridal Path, which broke ground recently and will be a 10,000-square-foot building housing the historic business moving to Madison after more than 50 years in business in Jackson.
Two more buildings will be built associated with the project that will come later.
The plans for the arch and the markers go back more than five years, but it has taken time to pull all the details together.
Magnolia District, which is coming to fruition as part of a more extensive downtown development, is set to break ground before the end of the summer.
It is also expected the Madison at Main project will come back online within the year, and the renovation of other historic properties along Madison Avenue has either been completed or is near completion.
With the markers, Hawkins-Butler intends to inform the greater public of the history of Madison and the place it holds within Central Mississippi as it is named for the fourth president of the United States, James Madison.
The town dates back to 1856 when Illinois Central opened its Madison Station.
Much of the modern-day downtown area is still built around the railroad tracks as the restaurant Strawberry Café resides in the historic railroad depot. Trains still pass lazily through the downtown area multiple times a day.
Ross Reily can be reached by email at [email protected] or 601-573-2952. You can follow him on Twitter @GreenOkra1.
