It was named for President James Madison. The county has six municipalities, with Danielsville serving as the county seat. The other communities are Carlton, Colbert, Comer, Hull and Ila. Crawford W. Long, the first doctor to use ether in surgery, was born in Danielsville in 1815. The soils of Madison County were heavily damaged by the cotton monoculture common in this region prior to the 1930s.
Agribusiness dominates the local economy, with poultry and egg production particularly important.
Madison and Oglethorpe counties share Watson Mill Bridge State Park, the site of the longest covered bridge in Georgia. The bridge, which is over 100 years old, spans 229 feet of the South Fork of the Broad River. There are also facilities for camping, hiking trails, picnicking and fishing in the park. It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. New Hope Presbyterian Church, established in 1788, is the third oldest church in Georgia.