Madtown reppin’: Everything you know if you grew up in Madison, Alabama

Madison, Alabama, is known for being a fantastic place to raise a family and, from my experience, it is a great place to grow up. We have excellent schools, beautiful mountains, fun shopping and delicious food.

We have a large population of 42,938 (yes, that is large for Alabama), but we have a close-knit community with a small town feel. We may be torn on some things, like football, but we can all agree that we are fortunate to live or have lived in Madison.

You or someone you know owns one of these shirts

In case you can’t tell, yes, that does say: “I ♥ BJ.” Wearing these shirts outside of Alabama will get you some weird looks. The Bob Jones High School cheerleaders sold these, and they were obviously a huge hit. I don’t think their sponsor understood the idea behind it until it was too late. So now these legendary shirts can be found in many Madison closets. Bob Jones High School will always be a big part of the town.

When people ask where you’re from, you say “Huntsville”

Let’s just pretend this is Madison.

If someone from Alabama asks you where you are from, you can say what high school you went to, but they most likely won’t recognize the city “Madison.” Most of us are less than five minutes from Huntsville, anyway.

You know there are a million great places to go hiking

The beautiful mountains are great for an afternoon hike. There are endless rocks to climb and creeks to swim in. You can find a paved path, an easy path or even go out on your own. There is something for everyone.

You have gone to “Dead Children’s Playground” at some point

Dead Children’s Playground has been a popular spot around Halloween for Madison and Huntsville residents for generations. This is a playground located in Maple Hill Cemetery. According to legend, there was a large number of child abductions in the 1960s and the bodies were found in the playground area. Others say the spirits on the playground are the Children buried at Maple Hill Cemetery.

Robin Wright says: “The most eerie of reports is the common occurrence of swings moving rhythmically and in sync by themselves, even when the swings have just been brought to a complete stop. Some have seen dust from the sand that covers the area rise as if someone had jumped off a swing. Others who have taken photographs see circles of light show up on their photos, some of which are the same height as a child.”

You have been to The Space and Rocket Center more times than you can count

Field trips, going with your friends, taking your kids, entertaining a client – there are endless opportunities to go to the Space and Rocket Center. It’s also pretty cool that Mary-Kate and Ashley went there, am I right?

You take high school football very seriously

We take our sports very seriously in Madison. Our student sections are never dull. Bob Jones graduate Reggie Ragland now plays for The University of Alabama and Madison Academy graduate Kerryon Johnson plays for Auburn University.

Tornado sirens don’t surprise you

We will never forget April 27th, 2010. Most of us went an entire week without power and a lot of us had tornado damage. The Silent Hill like sirens can be heard quite often in Madison, and although we are a bit desensitized to them and they are usually not in our direct path, we still take them very seriously.