Madison County

Rural, rugged, and resistant to change are the words that best sum up Madison County.

With its pristine mountain streams, sleepy hollows, and breathtaking views from some of the highest and most popular summits along the Blue Ridge Mountains, Madison is without question a beautiful Virginia county. Sitting east of the Blue Ridge, the county is predominantly Piedmont, though the mountains are surely what gives Madison its identity. Established in 1792 from Culpeper County (its closest neighbor to the north), Madison has a total footprint of 322 sq. mi. and a population of just over 13,000 as of the 2010 census, a number that has only seen about 5% growth over the previous three decades. In fact, Madison has maintained a relatively stable population for close to a century, somehow resisting the rapid, double-digit increases that neighboring Culpeper, Orange, and Greene Counties have experienced. Contrary to popular presumption, the County was not named directly for former president James Madison, but rather after the Madison family (of which he was a descendant), prominent tobacco farmers who owned vast tracts of land along the Rapidan River. James Madison’s famous Montpelier estate is located in neighboring Orange County.

Any discussion of Madison County’s natural wonder is rightfully dominated by the Blue Ridge, and specifically Shenandoah National Park. The mountains rise over 4000 feet; the ridge divides two major river drainages in Virginia, with the Shenandoah River draining north to the Potomac on the west side of the ridge, while the runoff to the east finds its way to the Chesapeake Bay via the Rappahannock and James Rivers. Madison itself sits entirely in the Rappahannock’s watershed.

Shenandoah National Park (or just “Shenandoah,” as it is commonly called) stretches across more than 200,000 acres, with over 33,000 of them in Madison County—covering about 16% of the County’s total landmass. Created mostly in the 1930s, Shenandoah was one of the first two National Parks in the eastern United States. It is carved from eight Virginia counties, with Madison’s share ranking third behind Page and Rockingham Counties (38,613 and 37,968 acres respectively), but tops among counties on the eastern side of the ridge. Originally proposed to be over 500,000 acres, lack of funds resulted in just over 176,000 acres in the park when it was officially dedicated by President Franklin Roosevelt in 1936. Over 40% of the park’s land has since been designated as wilderness, and some 1.5 million people visit the park annually.

Madison’s greatest birding asset truly is the park: nearly 40% of all eBird checklists submitted from the County come from Shenandoah. High-elevation breeders are the specialties that can be found at many locations along the ridge, though the county lines are somewhat tricky in places. Cerulean, Canada, Blackburnian, Black-throated Blue, Black-throated Green, Chestnut-sided, and Black-and-white Warblers, as well as American Redstarts are among the most sought-after warbler species that can be observed throughout the breeding season. Other breeders include Dark-eyed Junco, Veery, Blue-headed Vireo, and Rose-breasted Grosbeak. Some of the best known hotspots to view these species include the Limberlost Trail, Dark Hollow, Hawksbill, Big Meadows, and Stony Man Trail (though Stony Man’s actual summit sits in Page County—one of those tricky county-line issues). The Limberlost Trail is a 1.3-mile loop trail that requires minimal physical exertion (only 140 feet of elevation change), and is one of the most productive hotspots during spring and fall migration. This is likely due to the nearly-effortless walk through prime habitat with good footing, where one can completely focus on the birds present, and not your next footstep. The thick understory of mountain laurel, mixed with sunny edges, makes this trail a good bet for a fall migrant Connecticut Warbler, too. Another feature in the park is Big Meadows, which is unique in that it is the most expansive open area in Shenandoah, and has an interesting mix of upland and lowland breeders. Native Americans used this area for seasonal hunting and can be credited with maintaining its meadow status through the use of regular, low impact burns and hand clearing. Regular controlled burns are still employed by the Park Service to keep natural succession at bay. Due to this unusual habitat at 3,540 feet above sea level, Big Meadows boasts one of the highest species counts for any location within the park. The only known observation of White-winged Crossbills in the county was from here in November 2012, during a notable finch irruption year. Big Meadows holds the record for the greatest state accumulation of snowfall in a 24-hour period, with a whopping 33 inches during the Ash Wednesday storm of 1962. It also holds the record for the greatest total accumulation recorded in the state, with 47 inches during the Blizzard of 1996.

In summer of 2020, Red Crossbills were observed from a number of locations in the Central and North districts of the park, including sightings from the Pinnacles Picnic Area that lies within Madison County. Sightings of juvenile birds hint at potential breeding status in the park, but none of the young birds that were observed behaved as recently-fledged young, (i.e. were not receiving observable parental care). Due to this species’ nomadic wanderings and large breeding-season window, it was not possible to ascertain whether breeding indeed took place in this area of the ridge that summer. Hopefully over time, birder observations will unlock the mystery of where these birds are nesting.

Apart from its incalculable worth to birders, however, Shenandoah has a bit of a checkered history with longtime Madison residents. The County’s resistance to change is perhaps somewhat attributable to the creation of the National Park. In the 1930s, more than two thousand of the area’s mountain people – including many from Madison – were forcibly evicted from lands that they had occupied for generations. Described at the time as “almost completely cut off from the current of American life,” these so-called “Hollow Folks” were not only removed from their homes, but actually had their houses dismantled as Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps (primarily tasked with building Skyline Drive and other park facilities) attempted to erase as many signs of human habitation as possible. While the evictions were portrayed as a humanitarian act by the Federal Government—due to lack of established schools and seemingly less-than-poverty-level living conditions—some descendants of these disenfranchised families still hold a grudge, something that is often evident when talking to long-time residents. Much has been written about this sobering aspect of Shenandoah’s creation, with several articles linked below. The park itself, once administered solely as a natural area, has slowly changed to embrace the cultural impacts the park had on the surrounding counties, and even employs cultural resource professionals.

FDR is not the only President who directly impacted Madison. Just a few months before the start of Great Depression, in the spring of 1929, Iowa-born President Herbert Hoover personally purchased land in what is now the park and established his rural presidential retreat at the headwaters of the Rapidan River. As the first President not born in the East, Hoover longed for a wilderness getaway, calling it “a place for weekend rest.” This “summer White House,” and its associated buildings, was the precursor to Camp David, where friends of the family, cabinet members, and foreign dignitaries were frequently entertained. The camp likely would have remained in use today if not for the fact that Hoover’s successor, Franklin Roosevelt, was wheelchair-bound for much of his presidency, and as a result opted for the less rugged, wheelchair-accessible location in Maryland. In August of 1929, the first Hoover Day was conceived by the local Chamber of Commerce as a way to thank the president and first lady for choosing Madison County as the site of their retreat. The event turned out to be quite the party for this sleepy little town. It is estimated that around 10,000 people were in attendance, the equivalent to the entire population of the county at that time. The United States Marine Band played, there was a 21-gun salute, Brunswick Stew was served to all in attendance, and Governor Harry F. Byrd arrived via army blimp. Hoover Day is still celebrated to this day, though not to such a lavish extent as the first. Madison’s fondness for Hoover may have roots in a supposed promise made by the president on one of his many visits to the area. The County claims that during the construction of Rapidan Camp, President Hoover personally granted the county a designated park access. Clearly that promise was never met, and this no doubt adds to the unease and distrust some still harbor toward the government, and by extension, the park. This request for vehicular access to Shenandoah National Park was revisited in 2013, but denied due to lack of evidence to support that Hoover had ever made the claim, and also because of potential environmental impacts to the prized trout streams along the route from higher vehicular traffic. While Madison County has a prominent presence of county land within the park, it is easily overlooked by tourists traveling to access Skyline Drive. A 2017 report by the National Park Service estimated that nearly $96M were spent by park visitors; it seems much of that is spent in true gateway communities. As such, one wonders how much economic windfall is enjoyed by Madison County when it lacks true gateway status. Fortunately, Old Rag is one of the most popular hikes in the park (and the state!), and the easiest access is through pure Madison terra firma, drawing at least some visitors deeper into the county.

Apart from Shenandoah, much of Rapidan Wildlife Management Area is also located within Madison County. While it offers many of the same wildlife viewing and hiking opportunities as SNP, its infrastructure is considerably more rugged, and in many areas roads are not passable without a four-wheel-drive vehicle. A Department of Wildlife Resources access permit (or a fishing or hunting license) is required, but is not diligently enforced. As with any WMA, hunting can make birding within its boundaries difficult at certain times of the year. Easily accessible areas include Rapidan Road (which starts off as Quaker Run Road in Criglersville, and ends just before reaching Hoover’s Rapidan Camp), and the Kirtley Mountain Tract, which contains some interesting early successional habitat at the base of the ridge. Depending on the current state of management, the Kirtley Mountain Tract could potentially offer enough habitat for a small population of breeding Blue-winged Warblers.

Rapidan WMA notwithstanding, Madison becomes a much more difficult and frustrating county to bird once Shenandoah is taken out of the mix. With only 209 species entered into eBird (as of August 2020), a lack of waterfowl and shorebirds on its list is an obvious limiting factor. Of Madison’s 322 sq. mi. footprint, a mere 1.2 sq. mi. of it is water (only 0.4%), a deficiency compounded by the fact that much of it is inaccessible to the birding public. Waterfowl and shorebird species are simply hard to come by. The largest body of water in the county is White Oak Lake, which serves as the water supply for the town of Madison. At approximately 50 acres, it is heavily wooded around the majority of its perimeter, and access is controlled by the housing communities that surround the lake. A portion of the water can be viewed from a boat launch area in the Whiteoak South development, but this only affords viewing of a limited amount of the total waterbody. Lake Robertson, located on the campus of the Woodberry Forest School in the southeastern part of the county, is the second largest body of water known to exist in the county. At roughly 13 acres of open water, and with non-forested edges, it likely harbors the largest population of overwintering waterfowl in Madison County. That said, short of being a student or faculty member, or paying for a golf course membership, it is inaccessible and its potential remains a mystery to birders. The likelihood that Lake Robertson harbors the majority of Madison’s winter waterfowl population is bolstered by regular winter sightings of large goose flocks that will settle in the corn stubble fields within the general vicinity, and sometimes visit smaller nearby ponds at Hartland College on Locust Dale Road (east of US 15 – James Madison Hwy), and a couple small ponds that are viewable from Oak Park Road, just west of US 15.

If finding observable winter waterfowl habitat wasn’t trying enough, migrant shorebird habitat is truly scarce in the county. There are two known locations to observe spring migrants in Madison. One location on Wilderness Road, just west of Ridgeview Road (north of the village of Brightwood), has produced the most diversity of shorebird species. In spring the westernmost pond typically offers limited open mud edges that lead into a wetland area. Species observed here include Least, Semipalmated, Spotted, and Solitary Sandpipers, both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Plover, and also Dunlin (depending on the year). Both ponds, despite their small size, can retain decent-sized goose flocks in the winter months, with a few Cackling Geese in the mix. Hebron Church Road, located just north-northeast of the town of Madison (between Route 231 and Hebron Valley Road) can also offer some decent puddles to view shorebirds in spring, but ample rainfall is a must to get any action. Come late summer and into fall, these locations become a different story. Open mud puddles usually are now overgrown with annual weeds and grasses that cattle can’t trample enough to keep open, and muddy pond edges become lush with vegetation. Farm fields along Hebron Church Road are then solidly planted with a rotating mix of field corn (aka cow corn), used as silage, and soybeans, to enrich the soil with nitrogen for future crops. Sadly, most of these crops are harvested too late in the season to allow for the fall rains to create productive shorebird viewing opportunities. If you want Madison County shorebirds, spring is your best bet.

Year-round sparrow habitat is a different story. It’s everywhere. While there are no real standout locations, a day’s worth of exploration of Madison’s seemingly endless, sleepy backroads could turn up anything. This county truly suffers from a lack of active birding, likely due to a dearth of known hotspots. That said, it’s almost a blank slate for exploration, and such locations will likely become evident in the future as more birders venture into the depths of the county. Of Madison’s 209 species, in 2020 alone, a total of 13 new species have been observed within its borders, attributable only to an influx of birders “beating the bushes,” and trying to squeeze all they can out of this troublesome, and somewhat neglected county in Virginia.

—Ian C. Topolsky

Hotspots

Amenities

Other evidence of Madison County’s resistance to change is evident with just a short drive down Main Street in the town of Madison, the county seat, which resembles many other Virginia towns that have struggled to adapt to changing times. While dining options are somewhat minimal, and a number of storefronts sit empty, Madison is slowly but surely opening its doors to new, outside businesses. Mad Local (at the intersection of Washington and Main Streets), has taken over one of the town’s most popular breakfast and lunch locations, offering a surprisingly interesting spin on burgers and southern fare, with many of the ingredients sourced from local vendors. Madison is also now home to three breweries. Its first and most reliable brewery for craft suds is Bald Top Brewing, which opened its doors in late 2016 and, coincidentally, is a rural farm brewery that is a great place to see birds while hoisting a pint. Located just over a mile from Main Street on Thrift Road, it offers at least one food truck during normal business hours, and as of Aug 2020 is nearing completion of an expanded tasting room, with the addition of a wood-fired pizza kitchen. If wine is your thing, Early Mountain Vineyards is just outside of town on Route 230, which is en route to the Swift Run Gap entrance to Shenandoah National Park. It offers a constantly changing list of wines from around the state, with more upscale, seasonal menu options.

CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS

A small part of the Shenandoah NP-Luray CBC circle falls within Madison County, but the majority of the circle is in Page County. It contains much of the central portion of Shenandoah NP and much of the Page Valley surrounding Luray. The first CBC for this circle dates all the way back to 1934, the next count was not until 1946 and it was held annually through 1955 with another hiatus until 1969. Since 1969 the count has been held annually. If you are interested in participating please contact the compiler, Alan Williams, alanbwill@gmail.com.