Linda, thanks for the name of the Madison Hall Community. I have been to the cemetery twice during our travels east from California. The cemetery is located on the Campbell Lane only 4 tenths of a mile from its intersection with Steam Mill Ferry Road. We arrived at the cemetery both times via Malesus and thought that was the name of the town where the cemetery was actually located. Is Madison Hall an unincorporated community that is not part of Malesus? ~Carolyn Menges

The Madison Hall area was settled before (Allen Hill and his family were the first settlers in the Madison Hall area) the Malesus area and the two are not even connected. You may have approached Campbell Lane by coming from Hwy. 18 across Caldwell Road to Riverside and then to Campbell Lane. Hwy. 18 and part of Caldwell Road are considered Malesus, but starting with Riverside Dr. you are in the Madison Hall community. Malesus was never incorporated. You may be confusing it with Bemis, a cotton mill town built in 1900 by the Bemis Bro. Bag Co. You would definitely go through Bemis to get to Madison Hall; however, Bemis was never incorporated either. The Madison Hall Community starts at the intersection known as "the Sadie Lou Corner" where Riverside Dr. (coming from the city of Jackson) intersects with the Steam Mill Ferry Rd which starts at that intersections and goes all the way (southwest) to the edge of the county. About 1.5 miles west from the "Sadie Lou Corner" (a service station and a grocery store, both named Sadie Lou, located at that intersection) there is a Community Center building which is called the Madison Hall Community Center. It is just past the Madison Baptist Church, on the same side of the road) and the Anderson Presbyterian Church on the other side. The Madison Hall Community Center was at one time a school house. Shortly after the Civil War, the farmer's organization known as the Grange built a building which was known as the Grange Hall close to where the Community Center is now. They called the Hall, "Madison" in honor of the county. Therefore the community around this structure became known as "Madison Hall." According to Ethyl Bond Baker, who wrote a brief history of the community for Tennessee Homecoming 1986, the community encompassed the Steam Mill Ferry Road down to Mt. Pinson Rd., Campbell Lane, Riverside Drive, Wells and Lassiter Rd., Boone Lane, Horton Rd. (I think that's all). Madison Hall was never incorporated, but the Grange Hall was the center of life around that area. A school was held on the lower floor and the Grange meetings and other socials were held on the top floor. My grandmother, Ortna Lee Baxter Glynn Jennings wrote about going to an oyster supper upstairs in the Grange Hall with my grandfather, Matt M. Jennings around 1898. Many outstanding citizens of Madison County came from the Madison Hall Community. Let me know a number where I can fax Ethyl's history and I'll be glad to. Linda ljhiggins@charter.net ----- Original Message ----- From: <CMenges244@aol.com> To: <TNMADISO-L@rootsweb.com> Sent: Wednesday, January 07, 2004 10:20 AM Subject: Re: [TNMADISO] Re: Hill Cemetery > Linda, thanks for the name of the Madison Hall Community. I have been to the > cemetery twice during our travels east from California. The cemetery is > located on the Campbell Lane only 4 tenths of a mile from its intersection with > Steam Mill Ferry Road. We arrived at the cemetery both times via Malesus and > thought that was the name of the town where the cemetery was actually located. > Is Madison Hall an unincorporated community that is not part of Malesus? > ~Carolyn Menges > > > ==== TNMADISO Mailing List ==== > NOTICE: Posting of virus warnings, test messages, chain letters, political > announcements, current events, items for sale, personal messages, flames, > etc. (in other words - spam) is NOT ALLOWED and will be grounds for removal. > Consideration for exceptions, contact Kathleen Burnett kathleenburnett@earthlink.net > > ============================== > Gain access to over two billion names including the new Immigration > Collection with an Ancestry.com free trial. Click to learn more. > http://www.ancestry.com/rd/redir.asp?targetid=4930&sourceid=1237 > >