The organization of conservation districts in Tennessee began June 13th 1940 with the creation of Sumner County and Lauderdale County SWCDs.  By 1959, with the creation of the Lake County SCD on September 9th, all 95 counties in Tennessee had formed soil conservation districts. 

The Madison County Soil & Water Conservation District is a corporate and political subdivision of Tennessee.  Organized July 10th, 1941 by the state soil & water conservation committee at the request of Madison County landowners, the district became the tenth soil conservation district to be formed in Tennessee.  It received its charter from the state on October 1st, 1941.  The original board was composed of Tom Lewis, C. O. Hopper, J. Harris Smith, N.T. Mayo, and Roy Ozier.  Organized in accordance with the purposes, provisions, power and restrictions set forth within the Tennessee Soil & Water Conservation District law the district geographical and policital boundaries are the same as those of Madison County, comprising some 358,000 acres of land and water.  The district is one of 95 such districts in the state and one of 3,000 districts across the country.

The District does much to promote conservation but its primary function is as an intermediary between owners of privately owned agricultural property and the Federal Government, wherein, through cooperating agreements between the District and private landowners, the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), an agency of the Federal Government under USDA will provide certain technical services and financial aid to assist private landowners with the prevention and reduction of soil erosion and with the conservation of soil related natural resources.