Madison County, Alabama
Madison County · Huntsville · the Tennessee River seat sits here · Madison the city is not the hall · Montgomery is the capital
Huntsville is the hall and Alabama’s largest city. The City of Madison is not the hall. Montgomery is the capital.
Madison County, Alabama, was erected 13 December 1808 as a county of the Mississippi Territory — before Alabama was a state — and named for James Madison. Huntsville is the seat. Huntsville is the largest city in this county and, by recent count, the largest city in Alabama. The City of Madison is a municipality. The City of Madison is not the county government. Owens Cross Roads, New Hope, Triana, and Gurley are not the hall. This is not Madison County, Tennessee. This is not Madison County, Mississippi, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Ohio, New York, Kentucky, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Carolina, Texas, Virginia, or Idaho. Montgomery is the capital of Alabama. It does not sit here. Huntsville is not the capital. A rocket on a postcard is not this courthouse.
Places include Huntsville, the City of Madison, Owens Cross Roads, New Hope, Triana, Gurley, Harvest, Meridianville, Hazel Green, and New Market. 2020 census: 388,153. Census Bureau estimates after 2023 put this county past Mobile as Alabama’s second-most-populous, after Jefferson. Confirm the latest count. This page is Side One for the place. The Sheriff’s job — unincorporated north-Alabama patrol and the Metro Jail this badge still holds — is taught at Office of the Sheriff — Madison County.
Six districts plus an at-large chair on Northside Square. They do not sit in a rocket hangar as this county.
Madison is a seven-member County Commission since 1988: six Commissioners by single-member district and a Chairman elected at-large. There is no County Executive. Commission chambers list on the 7th floor of the Madison County Courthouse, 100 Northside Square, Huntsville. They fund roads, the Metro Jail, and the Sheriff’s budget. They do not hire the Sheriff. The people do. Huntsville City Council is a city body. Madison City Council is a city body.
The courthouse is at 100 Northside Square (23rd Judicial Circuit). The Circuit Clerk lists 100 Northside Square, Room 217 (SOS). Absentee Election Manager and Board of Registrars list at the Madison County Service Center, 1918 North Memorial Parkway — a different door from the Square. A rocket rumor is not this county.
The Sheriff is four years, Article V § 138, 2026 with the Governor. Take office 18 January 2027. The Mayor of Huntsville is a city clock.
Redstone, NASA Marshall, and Cummings Park are not this courthouse. Tennessee is a north line.
I-565, I-65 (west edge), U.S. 72, U.S. 231, and U.S. 431 are the through roads. The Tennessee River / Wheeler Lake is south. Redstone Arsenal is a U.S. Army installation. NASA Marshall Space Flight Center sits on that federal land — in this county, not in Marshall County. Cummings Research Park is a research campus, not a county hall. Limestone (Athens) is west. Jackson (Scottsboro) is east. Marshall (Guntersville) is southeast. Morgan (Decatur) is southwest. Lincoln County, Tennessee, is north. Staff who paste a Saturn V onto Northside Square, or treat Huntsville as the state capital, or file “Madison, Tennessee,” are on the wrong county.
How a Huntsville public finds the Madison desk
Courthouse / Circuit Clerk: 100 Northside Square, Huntsville, AL 35801 (madison.alacourt.gov). Absentee Election Manager / Board of Registrars: 1918 North Memorial Parkway (Madison County Service Center — madisoncountyvotesal.gov). Probate: 1918 North Memorial Parkway. Commission: 100 Northside Square. Sheriff headquarters (SOS): 100 Northside Square. Metro Jail / Detention Center: 815 Wheeler Avenue, Huntsville, AL 35801 (madisoncountysheriffal.org). Records lists 705 Wheeler Avenue. Confirm live addresses on madisoncountyal.gov and the SOS county lookup. A student who only knows a rocket photograph has not found the Square.
815 Wheeler still jails. Huntsville PD does not. The City of Madison does not.
Crime in unincorporated Madison — Harvest, Meridianville, Hazel Green, New Market, Gurley country, the Tennessee River remainder outside city limits — is this Sheriff. Crime in Huntsville is often Huntsville Police. Crime in the City of Madison is often Madison Police. Crime in New Hope or Owens Cross Roads is often municipal. This Sheriff is not Huntsville PD. This Sheriff is not Madison PD. The City of Huntsville’s own detention page says detention for Huntsville is managed by the Madison County Sheriff’s Office at the Madison County Metro Jail, 815 Wheeler Avenue. A Chief of Corrections title here is Sheriff’s staff, not a separate ADOC house and not a Warden split that retires this badge. Limestone Correctional Facility is ADOC in Limestone County. Redstone is federal. Do not paste a rocket onto Wheeler. Do not send a family looking for a county booking to Huntsville Police, Madison Police, or Tennessee. Civil process and courthouse security at 100 Northside Square are the Sheriff. Rights do not change at the river. Remedy for Huntsville Police is the City. Remedy for a Sheriff’s paper is the Sheriff. Relief when the Tennessee comes up is this count first.
Care without inventing a rocket chapel as this county
A peace order served in Harvest. A transport from 815 Wheeler to 100 Northside Square without becoming Huntsville Police. Do not invent a church. Do not invent NASA as this badge.
What north Alabama’s second-most-populous county actually watches
Court calendar on Northside Square. A wreck on I-565. High water on Wheeler Lake. Fog toward Gurley. A night road outside Harvest. Coordination with Huntsville PD, Madison PD, and ALEA without becoming those departments. Coordination with Limestone’s Sheriff or Marshall’s Sheriff is mutual aid between two offices, not a merger. A rocket photograph does not steal the seat. Montgomery remains the capital.
Huntsville snapshot (verify official sources)
- Seat: Huntsville · Largest city: Huntsville · Municipality not the hall: City of Madison · Capital of Alabama: Montgomery
- Government: six Commissioners by district · Chairman at-large · court 100 Northside Square
- Sheriff: four years · 2026 · patrol and detention at 815 Wheeler Avenue · HQ 100 Northside Square
- Absentee / Registrars: 1918 North Memorial Parkway (Service Center — not the jail)
- Neighbors: Limestone · Jackson · Marshall · Morgan · Lincoln County, Tennessee
- Not Madison, Tennessee / Mississippi / Illinois / Indiana · Not Huntsville as the capital · Not Redstone as this jail · Not NASA Marshall as this badge · Not Marshall County as this hall
What Huntsville is not, as this county
- Not the capital. Montgomery is the capital.
- Not the City of Madison as the county government. Not Owens Cross Roads as the hall.
- Not Madison County, Tennessee. Not Madison, Mississippi. Not Madison, Indiana.
- Not Huntsville Police as this Sheriff. Not Madison Police as this oval.
- Not Redstone Arsenal. Not NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. Not Cummings Research Park as this hall.
- Not a campaign flyer.