Madison County was named in honor of Founding Father James Madison in 1827, when it was chartered as Florida’s largest county. Its county seat is Madison. When first formed, Madison County extended from the Aucilla river to the Withlacoochee and Suwannee rivers, and from the Georgia border to the Gulf of Mexico. Since then, the county has “surrendered” Taylor, Lafayette and Dixie Counties, but there are still 716 square miles of forests, rivers, lakes and gently rolling hills. Of the 716 square miles, 696 is land and 20 square miles (2.8%) is water.