The City of Madisonville originally began as the Town of Tellico, an Indian Village, founded in 1819. In the 1830's, James Madison Greenway, a State Representative for Monroe County, presented a petition from the residents of Tellico to change the name of the town to Madisonville, in honor of former U.S. President, James Madison. Madisonville was incorporated on May 16, 1850. Madisonville is centrally located in Monroe County, Tennessee where it is the County Seat.