MADISON COUNTY, the beginnings...
MCRS history is rich and varied as the area of the Piedmont in which Madison County sits. Madison County was granted a charter in December 1792, by an act of the Virginia General Assembly, well after the earliest colonists had settled the area. It was named for the Madison family that owned a tract of land along the Rapidan River and whose family had extensive land holdings and business interests in the area. Madison County was named for prominent statesman James Madison. This family produced one of our nation's early presidents, James Madison, whose estate is in neighboring Orange County and would later become the fourth President of the United States.
Madison County has been a crossroads of history for over 11,000 years. Paleo-Indians, the royal governor Alexander Spottswood and the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe, as well as Civil War Generals Stonewall Jackson and J. E. B. Stuart along with their men have all been visitors to Madison County.
MADISON COUNTY RESCUE SQUAD, the beginnings...
October 2012 begins the 49th year of the Madison County Rescue Squad (MCRS). 49 years later the mission, passion and purpose remains the same as it was in the beginning, to provide Madison County superior pre-hospital emergency basic and advanced life support to our neighbors, our hometown community. MCRS is committed to providing outstanding emergency medical care and ambulance transport to the residents and visitors of our community at no charge.
MCRS history is rich and varied as the area of the Piedmont in which Madison County sits. Madison County was granted a charter in December 1792 well after the earliest colonists had settled the area. It was named for the Madison family that owned a tract of land along the Rapidan River. This family produced one of our nation's early presidents, James Madison, whose estate is in neighboring Orange County. Madison County has been a crossroads of history for over 11,000 years. Paleo-Indians, the royal governor Alexander Spottswood and the Knights of the Golden Horseshoe, as well as Civil War Generals Stonewall Jackson and J. E. B. Stuart along with their men have all been visitors to Madison County.
It took until July 1964, when two members of the community met with members of the Madison County Jaycees to discuss the possibility of forming a rescue squad for the county of Madison. Up until this time, any emergencies were handled by the local county doctors; however they had no way of transporting patients to the hospital. A member of the Jaycees offered an ambulance and $100.00 contribution for them to get started. Within the week, the Madison Jaycees voted to endorse the Madison County Rescue Squad as a project. On August 14, 1963, the Jaycee committee with 75 people in attendance, held a community meeting. A motion was made that the Rescue Squad should be organized. The motion was seconded and received a unanimous vote of approval. At that time, approximately 25 people made application for membership. On August 29, 1963, a 1955 Pontiac ambulance was received. It was taken to Hitts Grocery in Aroda where it was cleaned, sanded, painted and lettered.
