Constructed for the Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis Railroad Company in 1894, the Madison Railroad Station is the third to serve the community. Unlike early railroad properties that valued functionality over style, the Madison station used an octagonal plan rarely employed for commercial and public buildings. It is the only example of this unusual building style in Madison. The two-story octagonal main section served as a passenger waiting room with the second story forming a cupola that reached above the wraparound porch’s roof. The small wing off the cupola’s west side housed the baggage area and ticket office.

Passenger service ended in 1935, but the railroad retained ownership of the building until the 1960s when it was used by a storage company and later housed the Wilco Electric Company. In 1986, the Jefferson County Historical Society purchased the property and restored the station to its historic appearance. It is now home to the historical society’s Railroad Station Museum where the space is interpreted as an early 20th-century passenger station.

The Madison Railroad Station contributes to the historic significance of the Madison Historic District, which is listed in the National Register of Historic Places and designated a National Historic Landmark.

Current view of the Madison Railroad Station. Courtesy of the Jefferson County Historical Society Research Library