MADISON HISTORY: James Alexander Humphrey and Madison High School

MADISON – The Humphrey family was among the early families of Madison and many of its members were influential in founding industry and education in the town at the turn of the century. In the back- toschool spirit, today’s article will focus on the influence of James Alexander Humphrey on local education. James Alexander Humphrey was one of the earliest members of the Humphrey family in Madison and was active in the late 1800s. He is believed to have built the original Roundhouse, Madison’s first town hall, which was built at the request of then-mayor John Buchanan Floyd.

“Madison’s James Alexander Humphrey, reportedly the builder of the original Roundhouse, was the father of seven sons, including storeowner William Benford Humphrey, who lived at 23 Front Street,” said Madison historian John Rankin in an October 25, 2010 Vintage Vignette. James Alexander was also involved in the founding of Madison High School, also known as Madison Training School. He, along with Mayor John Buchanan Floyd, C.G. Fennel, J.A. Watkins, A.H. Lewis, S.M. Doolittle, and M.A. Bishop formed a board of trustees that incorporated and established the Madison High School in 1895.

“Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Alabama that J.B. Floyd, C.G. Fennel, J.A. Watkins, J.A. Humphrey, A.H. Lewis, S.M. Doolittle, and M.A. Bishop, and their successors in office shall be and are hereby declared and created a body corporate under the constitution and laws of Alabama, by the name of the “Madison High School,” reads an Act of the General Assembly of Alabama dated February 18, 1895.

Alexander and his fellow trustees were in charge of formulating a curriculum, hiring teachers, and administering diplomas to students.

“The trustees and the president of the faculty and their successors in office shall regulate the matriculation fees, and adopt a course of study which shall include all branches taught in any school, or college in this state, and organize and establish any departments of learning, that they may deem best. The trustees and the president of the faculty are hereby authorized and empowered to grant certificates to the pupils who have completed a prescribed course of study in any department, certificates of proficiency as evidence of their attainments and skill,” says the Act of the General Assembly.

Madison High School or Madison Training School was the second school in Madison. It was preceded by the Madison Male and Female Academy, which was believed to have been founded around 1885 also by John Buchanan Floyd. Madison Male and Female Academy was located near Pension Row.

“Madison Mayor John B. Floyd owned the building, and when the trustees argued about allowing Floyd’s young daughter, Elizabeth, to teach, he closed the school,” explained Rankin in “Memories of Madison”.

Evidently, Floyd continued to support education in the area as he joined the trustees to found Madison Training School.

According to Madison Elementary’s official history, its predecessor, Madison Training School was chartered on February 25, 1895.

A two story structure was built at the modern-day intersection of Church Street and Front Street until 1908 when the building was rolled on logs to College Street. In 1936, the current Madison Elementary building replaced the original building. In 1951, the school became Madison Junior High School. In 1974, it became Madison Middle School, and in 1990 it became Madison Elementary.

Though Madison started out small, education was still a priority and possibility in the community, and educational institutions didn’t spring up out of nowhere. The founding of Madison High School (Madison Training School) demonstrates that effort, vision, and people like James Alexander Humphrey were needed to make education an option in Madison.