Madison County was carved from three counties in 1853

The Texas Legislature created Madison County on January 27, 1853, from portions of Grimes, Walker, and Leon counties. Dr. Pleasant W. Kittrell chose the county seat site and suggested naming both the county and the new town for President James Madison. The county was officially organized by August 1854.

The Bidais people, an Atakapan group, lived in the area long before European contact, with a main village near the Trinity River and Bedias Creek. Spanish explorers passed through in the 1500s and 1600s. A Spanish settlement called Bucareli was established nearby in 1774 but abandoned by 1779 due to flooding and Comanche raids. Today the county seat is Madisonville, located along Interstate 45 about 100 miles northwest of Houston.