Henderson County, Tennessee

Henderson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Tennessee, with its county seat in Lexington, and with a population of 27,842 as of the 2020 census. The county was founded in 1821 and named after James Henderson, a soldier in the War of 1812.W.C. Crooks,
Henderson County
" ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''. Retrieved: October 17, 2013.

History

Henderson County was established in 1821; it was named after Lt. Colonel James Henderson, Jr. (1775–1814), of the Tennessee State Militia, who was killed in late December 1814 below New Orleans during a clash with the British Army. Henderson is said to have served in earlier conflicts such as the Creek Indian war, which took place during the same overall time period as the War of 1812.

After the Battle of New Orleans, Major General William Carroll’s Tennessee brigade, which was the largest single force under General Andrew Jackson’s command in Louisiana, established their outgoing camp upriver from New Orleans and named it ''Camp Henderson''.

General Carroll's first term as the Governor of Tennessee began the same year that Henderson County was established.

The county seat, Lexington, was laid out in 1822. Like many Tennessee counties, Henderson was divided during the Civil War. Confederate sentiment was strongest in the western half of the county (where most of the county's plantations were located), while Union support was strongest in the hilly eastern half. In Tennessee's Ordinance of Secession referendum on June 8, 1861, Henderson County voted to remain in the Union by a margin of 1,013 to 800, being one of only eight counties in West or Middle Tennessee to vote against secession. Earlier on February 9, 1861, Henderson County voters had voted against holding a secession convention by a margin of 1,105 to 619.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which (1.1%) are covered by water.

The county straddles the Tennessee Valley Divide, with waters east of the divide flowing into the Tennessee River, and waters west of the divide flowing into the Mississippi River. Primary streams include the Beech River, which flows through the county's largest lake, Beech Lake, and the Forked Deer River.

Adjacent counties

* Carroll County (north)
* Decatur County (east)
* Hardin County (southeast)
* Chester County (southwest)
* Madison County (west)

National protected area

* Shiloh National Military Park Parker's Crossroads Battlefield

State protected areas

* Natchez Trace State Forest (part)
* Natchez Trace State Park (part)

Climate and weather

The climate in Henderson County is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. In summer, these regions are largely under the influence of moist, maritime airflow from the western side of the subtropical anticyclonic cells over low-latitude ocean waters. Temperatures are high and can lead to warm, oppressive nights. Summers are usually a bit drier than winters, with much of the rainfall coming from convectional thunderstorm activity; tropical cyclones may also enhance warm-season rainfall. The coldest month is usually quite mild, although freezes are not uncommon, and winter precipitation is derived primarily from frontal cyclones along the polar front.

The Köppen climate classification subtype for this climate is ''Cfa'' (humid subtropical climate).

Major highways

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Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 27,842 people, 10,711 households, and 7,113 families residing in the county.

2000 census

As of the 2000 census, 25,522 people, 10,306 households, and 7,451 families were residing in the county. The population density was . The 11,446 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 90.45% White, 8.00% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.14% Asian, 0.01% , Pacific Islander, 0.34% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. About 0.97% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

Of the 10,306 households, 32.3% had children under 18 living with them, 56.9% were married couples living together, 11.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were not families. About 24.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.7% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.90.

In the county, the age distribution was 24.3% under 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 28.8% from 25 to 44, 23.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.2% who were 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.9 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 90.0 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,057, and for a family was $38,475. Males had a median income of $28,598 versus $21,791 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,019. About 9.20% of families and 12.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.60% of those under 18 and 14.50% of those 65 or over.

Transportation

The Beech River Regional Airport is a public-use airport located northwest of the central business district of Parsons, a city in Decatur County. The airport is located in Darden, Tennessee.

Communities

City

* Lexington (county seat)
* Parkers Crossroads

Town

* Sardis
* Scotts Hill

Census-designated places

* Chesterfield
* Darden
* Huron
* Luray
* Wildersville

Unincorporated communities

* Cedar Grove
* Crucifer
* Independence
* Juno
* Life
* Middle Fork
* Mount Gilead
* Reagan

Politics

Henderson County is overwhelmingly Republican, and even before the rapid trend of the upland South away from the Democratic Party, was a Unionist Republican enclave in historically Democratic West Tennessee. This is due to the shallow, humus-poor, and easily erodible Highland Rim soils, which were much less suitable for plantation farming than the rest of Middle and West Tennessee.Wright, John K.; ‘Voting Habits in the United States: A Note on Two Maps’; ''Geographical Review'', vol. 22, no. 4 (October 1932), pp. 666-672 Henderson County has not voted for a Democratic candidate since Samuel Tilden in the 1876 election, and the last time it did not vote Republican was in 1912, when the county supported Progressive candidate Theodore Roosevelt; Henderson County was the only county in the state outside of East Tennessee to vote for Roosevelt in that election.

See also

* National Register of Historic Places listings in Henderson County, Tennessee

References

External links

Official site

Henderson County Chamber of Commerce

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1821 establishments in Tennessee
Populated places established in 1821
West Tennessee