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Missouri County
Madison County, Missouri
Fredericktown lead mining heritage and St. Francis River - from Fredericktown's historic lead and iron mining heritage (Madison County sits in Missouri's Old Lead Belt - the region that made Missouri the leading lead-producing state in America for decades - and the remnants of the mining era's influence on the county's economy and landscape remain visible in the Fredericktown area) to the St. Francis River corridor (the St. Francis River flows through Madison County's rugged Ozark terrain providing trout fishing, canoeing, and scenic access through the rocky hillsides and forested hollows of southeast Missouri's Ozark mountains).
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Office: Madison County Emergency Management – 1 Court Square (Basement), Fredericktown, MO 63645 | (573) 783-2176.
Dispatch: Madison County E-911 – Fredericktown, MO; 24/7 dispatch center for law enforcement, fire, and medical services, including a trained Crisis Intervention Team for mental-health-related emergencies.
Sheriff: Madison County Sheriff’s Office – 1 Court Square, Fredericktown, MO 63645 | (573) 783-2234.
Notes: For an active emergency, call 911.
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
Roads: MO-72 and MO-67 serve Fredericktown, the county seat, in the northeastern foothills of the St. Francois Mountains; the city is bordered on three sides by the easternmost parcel of Mark Twain National Forest.
Notes: Madison County, organized December 14, 1818, is named for President James Madison, who as Secretary of State under Thomas Jefferson had handled the Louisiana Purchase. Roughly 12,600-12,900 residents across 498 square miles in Missouri’s historic “Lead Belt” mining region.
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Madison County Courthouse – 1 Court Square, Fredericktown, MO 63645 | (573) 783-2176 | Fax: (573) 783-5351; houses the County Clerk, Commission, Assessor, Collector, Recorder, Treasurer, and Chamber of Commerce.
Notes: Madison County holds genuine national significance in American frontier history. Around 1715, local Indigenous guides led French explorers to lead deposits in the area, and the resulting Mine La Motte became one of the earliest European settlements in the interior United States, established for its strategic ammunition-lead supply. Madison County is recorded as having the oldest lead mine west of the Mississippi River. Notably, Moses Austin – father of Stephen F. Austin, later known as the “Father of Texas” – mined lead in this area between 1800 and 1820 before moving on to found the first Anglo-American colony in Texas. During the catastrophic 1925 Tri-State Tornado, farm buildings were destroyed and livestock killed in Madison County.
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Madison County Veterans Service – confirm current contact via madisoncountymo.us.
Federal: VA facilities accessible via the John J. Pershing VA Medical Center (Poplar Bluff) or a Farmington VA clinic; confirm current routing.
Libraries
LIBRARIES
Ozark Regional Library (Fredericktown branch) – Main St., Fredericktown, MO 63645 | (573) 783-2120 | Email: [email protected]; part of a multi-county regional library system.
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Key Assets: Mark Twain National Forest (surrounding Fredericktown on three sides), the historic Mine La Motte lead-mining district, and the broader St. Francois Mountains/Ozark Highlands region are the county’s premier attractions. (Note: the well-known Elephant Rocks natural area, sometimes associated with this region, is actually located in neighboring Iron County, not Madison County.)
Notes: The genuine Moses Austin/Texas colonization connection and the oldest-lead-mine-west-of-the-Mississippi distinction are among the most historically significant local facts covered anywhere in this project.
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
Appraisal/Parcel Search: Madison County Assessor – 1 Court Square (1st Floor), Fredericktown, MO 63645.
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Fredericktown Animal Control – (573) 783-3660.
Madison County Sheriff’s Office – (573) 783-2234 for rural/countywide animal-related concerns.
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Office: Madison County – confirm current contact via madisoncountymo.us.
NOTES: Madison County is the seventh and final county in the ninth batch of the Missouri v2 A+ sourced redo. The genuine Moses Austin/Texas colonization connection and the oldest-lead-mine-west-of-the-Mississippi distinction are among the most historically significant local facts covered anywhere in this project. This file also corrects a common regional confusion by noting Elephant Rocks is in Iron County, not Madison County. 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 County
Madison County is southeast Missouri’s Old Lead Belt heritage and St. Francis River Ozarks county – the historic lead mining legacy and the scenic St. Francis River define a county whose Ozark character and mining past anchor the community of Fredericktown between Cape Girardeau and Farmington.
Fredericktown (the county seat, population ~3,800) is Madison County’s governmental and commercial hub, a southeast Missouri Ozarks town serving the surrounding mining heritage and agricultural communities.
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Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Madison County Assessor at 1 Courthouse Square, Fredericktown, MO 63645, phone 573-783-2176. MO assessed at percentage of true value.
Courts & Legal
Madison County Circuit Court at 1 Courthouse Square, Fredericktown, MO 63645, phone 573-783-2175, handles probate.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
COUNTY CLERK
1 N. Main St., Fredericktown, MO 63645
(573) 783-2176
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Madison County Circuit Court, Probate Division (probate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Madison County 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.
Where to go
Madison County Circuit Court, Probate Division 3 Court Square, Suite 1 (mail: P.O. Box 470), Fredericktown, MO 63645 (573) 783-2102 Madison County is in southeastern Missouri, seated in Fredericktown.
Step 1: figure out which path applies
Missouri probate is governed by Title XXXI of the Missouri Revised Statutes (Chapters 470-475), the Probate Code.
Small Estate Affidavit (RSMo § 473.097) – available when the entire estate, less liens and encumbrances, does not exceed $40,000. A 30-day waiting period after death applies, and only if no application for letters is pending. If the property listed is worth more than $15,000, the clerk must publish a notice to creditors in a newspaper of general circulation in the county. A bond may be required. Once the court issues a certified small estate certificate, the affiant presents it directly to whoever holds the property to collect and distribute assets – avoiding full probate. Typical timeline: about two months to close, versus six months to a year or more for full probate.
Formal Administration – required for larger or more complex estates. A petition for Letters Testamentary (with a will) or Letters of Administration (without one) is filed with the probate division. After review, the court appoints the personal representative and issues the letters. Missouri offers both supervised and independent administration. Missouri requires an attorney to represent the personal representative in both types of administration.
Step 2: filing for formal probate
File a petition with the Probate Division of the Circuit Court in the county where the decedent was domiciled.
The court appoints the personal representative and issues Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration.
The personal representative publishes a notice to creditors in a newspaper of general circulation in the county, and gives direct notice to known creditors. Creditors have 6 months from the date of first publication to file claims.
Within 30 days of appointment (unless the court extends the deadline), the personal representative files an inventory and appraisement of all estate assets.
After debts are paid and the creditor claim period expires, the personal representative distributes the remaining assets and files a final settlement with the court to close the estate.
What it costs
Missouri sets statutory minimum fees for attorneys and personal representatives based on a percentage of the estate’s value, though additional fees may be allowed for extraordinary services.
Missouri has no state estate tax and no state inheritance tax. Only the federal estate tax could apply, and only to very large estates.
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
1 N. Main St., Fredericktown, MO 63645
(573) 783-5521
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
ELECTIONS
1 N. Main St., Fredericktown, MO 63645
(573) 783-2176
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
Office: Madison County Health Department – confirm current phone via madisoncountymo.us.
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Fredericktown
Population: 12,000
Area: 497 sq mi
Established: 1818
Tier: 3
Public Records
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