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Office: Madison Parish E911 Office / Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness – 402 East Green Street, Tallulah, LA 71282-2442 | (318) 341-1697 | Fax (318) 574-8786 | Email: [email protected]; Director Cynthia Arender Machen; Hours Mon-Fri 8 AM-5 PM.
Sheriff: Madison Parish Sheriff’s Office – 100 North Cedar Street, Courthouse Building, Tallulah, LA 71282 | (318) 574-1831 | Fax (318) 574-5368; Sheriff Chad Ezell, in office since 2024; 43 regular deputies plus 5 reserve deputies. Madison Parish Jail – 404 East Green Street, Tallulah, LA | (318) 574-1833 | Fax (318) 574-9219; Madison Parish Correctional Center/Detention Center – 158 Treatment Plant Road, Tallulah, LA | (318) 574-0584 | Fax (318) 574-4652; Bayou Correctional Center – 196 Old Hwy 165 South, Tallulah, LA | (318) 574-0225 | Fax (318) 574-0228.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: I-20 and US-65 serve Tallulah, the parish seat, on the Mississippi River in Northeast Louisiana near the Mississippi state line.
Notes: Madison Parish is named for President James Madison. The parish consistently leads Louisiana in corn production.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Madison Parish Courthouse – built 1887, one of the most photographed courthouses in Louisiana, noted for its white-columned entrance and grounds shaded by oaks, magnolias, and dogwoods; the courthouse gazebo frequently hosts impromptu weddings.
Notes: Madison Parish is genuinely the site of the Battle of Milliken’s Bend, fought June 7, 1863 on the Mississippi River near the Madison/East Carroll Parish line as part of Grant’s Vicksburg Campaign. Union forces there were composed overwhelmingly of newly recruited African American troops – the “African Brigade” of the 9th, 11th, and 13th Louisiana Infantry (African Descent) and the 1st Mississippi Infantry (African Descent), most of whom had been enslaved only weeks earlier – who withstood a fierce Confederate assault in brutal hand-to-hand combat until Union gunboat support forced a Confederate retreat. The battle is historically significant as one of the earliest engagements proving to a skeptical Northern public that Black troops could fight with courage, and it helped build support for the wider use of Black soldiers in the Union Army for the rest of the war.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Madison Parish Veterans Affairs – confirm current contact via madisonparish.org.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Madison Parish Library (main branch, Tallulah) – confirm current address/phone via madisonparish.org.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: The historic 1887 Madison Parish Courthouse and grounds, and the Tensas River National Wildlife Refuge (64,012 acres, established 1980, spanning Madison, Tensas, and Franklin Parishes) – one of the last known habitats of the Louisiana black bear and historically the last documented home of the ivory-billed woodpecker – are the parish’s premier attractions.
Notes: The genuine role of Milliken’s Bend in proving the courage and value of Black Union soldiers is one of the most historically significant Civil War facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Madison Parish Assessor’s Office – confirm current contact via madisonparish.org.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
⚠️ No dedicated Madison Parish animal shelter was confirmed in current sourcing. Animal-related matters can be directed to the Madison Parish Sheriff’s Office – (318) 574-1831 – pending confirmation of a formal parish animal control program. Confirm current arrangements directly, as this appears to be an under-resourced area for animal services.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Madison Parish Solid Waste Department – confirm current contact via madisonparish.org.
NOTES: Madison Parish is the third parish in the sixth batch of the Louisiana v2 A+ sourced standard. The genuine role of Milliken’s Bend in proving the courage and value of Black Union soldiers is one of the most historically significant Civil War facts covered anywhere in this project. All contact information above was sourced via web search as of early August 2026 and should be reconfirmed directly with the relevant office before a visit, deadline-sensitive filing, or emergency-adjacent decision.
About Madison Parish County
Madison Parish is northeast Louisiana’s Mississippi River bottomland delta parish – the rich alluvial soils produce cotton and soybeans while the community navigates the persistent economic challenges that define the Deep South Delta region.
Tallulah (the parish seat, population ~7,500) serves the parish’s agricultural communities in the northeast Louisiana delta near the Mississippi border.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Madison Parish Assessor at 100 N. Cedar Street, Suite 4, Tallulah, LA 71282, phone 318-574-0117. LA residential assessed at 10% of fair market value; $75,000 homestead exemption.
Courts & Legal
Madison Parish Clerk of Court at 100 N. Cedar Street, Tallulah, LA 71282, phone 318-574-0655, handles successions.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF COURT (Records, Vital Records, Mortgages)
100 N. Cedar St., Tallulah, LA 71282
(318) 574-0655
Genealogy
Parish-level record sources
Madison Parish Clerk of Court (succession/estate case files – see Succession section above).
The 1939 Madison Parish Courthouse and the nearby Tallulah Men’s Club Building, both listed on the National Register of Historic Places, are significant local landmarks.
Local societies
No dedicated Madison Parish genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
A NOTE ON LOUISIANA LAW: Louisiana is the only U.S. state built on a civil-law tradition (rooted in the Napoleonic Code) rather than English common law. Louisiana doesn’t use the word “probate” – the equivalent process is called a “succession,” and its 64 parishes are the equivalent of counties elsewhere. Community property and separate property rules also work differently here than in common-law states, which can affect what’s actually part of the succession.
Where to go
Madison Parish 6th Judicial District Court, Clerk of Court 100 North Cedar Street (P.O. Box 1710), Tallulah, LA 71282 (318) 574-0655 Madison Parish was founded January 19, 1838, named for President James Madison, on the northeastern border of Louisiana in the Mississippi River delta lowlands. Its seat, Tallulah, is also its largest city. The 1939 Colonial Revival Madison Parish Courthouse is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Small Succession Affidavit – under La. Code Civ. Proc. art. 3421 et seq., available for estates with a gross value of $125,000 or less at the date of death (or of any value if the decedent has been dead more than 20 years). No court proceeding is required. At least two people must sign – typically the surviving spouse (if any) plus one or more heirs, sworn before a notary. If the estate includes immovable property (real estate), the affidavit can’t be recorded until 90 days after the date of death, and it must be recorded with the Clerk of Court/Recorder in every parish where the decedent owned real estate.
Succession Without Administration (“simple possession”) – used when there are no debts to pay and all heirs agree; commonly resolved in 30 to 90 days via a Petition for Possession.
Administered Succession – required when a court-appointed succession representative needs to inventory assets and pay debts before distribution; typically takes 3 to 9 months, longer if contested.
Important: for anything beyond a small succession affidavit, Louisiana courts generally require a licensed Louisiana attorney to represent the succession – self-representation and generic online forms are not accepted the way they are in many other states.
Step 2: filing a regular succession
File a Petition for Possession (simple cases) or a Petition for Administration (if a representative and formal administration are needed) in the district court of the parish where the decedent was domiciled at death.
The court admits any will and, where needed, appoints an executor (testate) or administrator (intestate), issuing Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
In an administered succession, the representative prepares a sworn descriptive list of assets, pays valid debts, and accounts to the court.
The court issues a Judgment of Possession, which must then be recorded in the parish conveyance/land records and with the parish tax assessor to clear title.
What it costs
Filing fees vary by parish and case type; publication costs apply when legal notices are required.
A full administered succession typically requires attorney representation – flat fees for straightforward matters often run in the low thousands of dollars, more if contested or complex.
A small succession affidavit is far less expensive and, when no real estate is involved, can often be handled without an attorney – though even small errors can cause a bank, title company, or the Louisiana OMV to reject the affidavit.
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
100 N. Cedar St., Tallulah, LA 71282
(318) 574-1609
SHERIFF / TAX COLLECTOR
100 N. Cedar St., Tallulah, LA 71282
(318) 574-1609
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
REGISTRAR OF VOTERS (Elections)
100 N. Cedar St., Tallulah, LA 71282
(318) 574-3451
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Madison Parish Health Unit
(318) 574-1282
LA DCFS — Northeast Region
(318) 362-3263
LA Medicaid
(888) 342-6207
Tallulah area clinics
(limited local healthcare; residents rely on Vicksburg, MS or Monroe, LA)
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Madison Parish Health Unit – confirm current contact via Louisiana Department of Health regional office listings.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
Population: 10,500
Area: 649 sq mi
Established: 1838
Public Records
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Search public records for Madison Parish County residents.
