Madison County Courthouse was built in 1829 on the original site to replace an earlier log courthouse. Its Federal brickwork has been declared some of the finest in America, and its architecture one of the best examples of the period. Madison County, named in honor of the family of James Madison, remains as originally established by an Act of the Virginia Assembly in 1792. Its area totals 209,280 acres, with about 33,000 acres within the Shenandoah National Park.