1950

Following WWII the United States entered a time of great economic prosperity, and consumerism increased

1950

The population of Madison County decreased to 20,522

1950

(June 25th) Communist North Korea, supported by the Soviet Union, escalated the civil war against South Korea, supported by the United States, thus beginning the Korean War

1953

(July 27th) The main hostilities of the Korean War ended with a ceasefire agreement

1956

The U.S. military assumed responsibility for training South Vietnamese troops from the departing French

1959

The first American servicemen died in the Vietnam War

1960

The population of Madison County shrank to 17,217

1960s

Despite the overall decrease in population, many newcomers entered Madison County as part of the counterculture back-to-the-land movement

1961

(August 13th) Construction began on the Berlin Wall to separate West Berlin from East Berlin and the rest of East Germany

1963

(November 22nd) President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in a motorcade drive through Dealey Plaza in Dallas, TX

1968

(April 4th) Civil Rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, TN

1968

(June 5th) New York Senator and a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination Robert F. Kennedy was assassinated in Los Angeles, CA

1969

(July 20th) The Apollo 11 mission was the first human spaceflight to land on the Moon – Commander Neil Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin became the first men to walk on the Moon, while Command Module Pilot Michael Collins orbited above them

1970

The population of Madison County fell to 14,938

1970

A study declared agriculture to be an inadequate base for Madison County's struggling economy and stressed that the region's geography, beauty, and climate offered great potential for recreational tourism and vacation home construction

1974

(August 9th) President Richard Nixon resigned from office following the Watergate scandal

1975

(April 30th) Following defeat, the last American troops left Vietnam and North and South Vietnam were unified under the North's communist government

1986

(January 28th) The Space Shuttle Challenger exploded 73 seconds after takeoff, killing all seven members of its crew – one study found that 85% of surveyed Americans reported having heard the news within one hour of the disaster

1987

After 52 years of construction, the last stretch of the Blue Ridge Parkway was laid around Grandfather Mountain near Linville, NC

1989

(November 9th) After 28 years in existence the Berlin Wall fell when the government of East Germany announced that entering West Berlin would be permitted – in the weeks to follow people chipped away at the wall in celebration

1990

The population of Madison County increased to 16,953

1990

(August 2nd) The Gulf War began, a conflict to liberate Kuwait from Iraq led primarily by the United States and authorized by the United Nations

1991

(February 28th) The Gulf War ended following the Iraqi retreat from Kuwait

1997

Construction began on the Interstate 26 corridor through Madison County
Original Image from Documenting the American South

1998

(January 12th) National Public Radio reported on the Interstate 26 debate in Madison County