Henning is a town in Lauderdale County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 871 at the 2020 census.

History

Founded in the late 1800s, the town is named after prominent businessman and railway official William H. Henning. The infamous Battle of Fort Pillow, a

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

victory for the Confederates, took place near Henning. Here, nearly 300 black troops serving in the Union Army were massacred after surrendering by Confederates under the command of General

Nathan Bedford Forrest Nathan Bedford Forrest (July 13, 1821October 29, 1877) was an List of slave traders of the United States, American slave trader, active in the lower Mississippi River valley, who served as a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Con ...

. The Confederate refusal to treat these troops as traditional prisoners of war infuriated the North, and led to the Union’s refusal to participate in prisoner exchanges. Union survivors’ accounts, later supported by a federal investigation, concluded that African-American troops were massacred by Forrest’s men after surrendering. In 1900, a local black man, Anderson Gause, was lynched by a mob.

Geography

Henning is located at (35.673563, -89.577366). According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the town has a total area of , all land. Henning is situated on the southeastern edge of the New Madrid Seismic Zone, an area with a high

earthquake An earthquakealso called a quake, tremor, or tembloris the shaking of the Earth's surface resulting from a sudden release of energy in the lithosphere that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes can range in intensity, from those so weak they ...

risk.

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 871 people, 491 households, and 315 families residing in the town.

2000 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 970 people, 362 households, and 238 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 406 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 22.37%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 74.85%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 1.34% Native American, and 1.44% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 0.41% of the population. There were 362 households, out of which 32.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 35.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 26.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.37. In the town, the population was spread out, with 32.8% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 19.2% from 45 to 64, and 13.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 76.7 males. The median income for a household in the town was $20,438, and the median income for a family was $19,776. Males had a median income of $26,500 versus $19,583 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $8,413, which is the lowest in the state. About 30.9% of families and 30.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 31.9% of those under age 18 and 30.2% of those age 65 or over.

Government and infrastructure

The

United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...

operates the Henning Post Office. The Tennessee Department of Corrections operates the West Tennessee State Penitentiary in unincorporated Lauderdale County, near Henning.West Tennessee State Penitentiary
" Tennessee Department of Correction. Retrieved on September 26, 2010. Previously the Cold Creek Correctional Facility was located in the area.Cold Creek Correctional Facility
" Tennessee Department of Correction. February 3, 1999. Updated July 13, 1998. Retrieved on September 26, 2010. Henning is home to a community of

Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians The Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians () is one of three federally recognized tribes of Choctaw, an indigenous Indian people, and the only one in the state of Mississippi. On April 20, 1945, this tribe was organized under the Indian Reorgan ...

. The tribe placed 79 acres of local land into federal trust in 2012, making it the only Native American Indian tribe that owns land in

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

Education

Henning Public Schools are part of Lauderdale County School District. The school district has one primary school, two elementary schools, one middle school, one junior high school and two high schools. Shawn Kimble is the superintendent of schools.

Notable people

* John Henry Barbee, blues guitarist known for his connection to

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

's blues scene * Ramon Foster, offensive lineman for

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

* Erle P. Halliburton, the founder of Halliburton Company (the world's second largest oil field service company), was born in Henning. * Alex Haley, author, best known for ''Roots'', winner of Pulitzer Prize in 1976 and acclaimed television miniseries; Henning was his boyhood home * Jim Hickman, Major League Baseball outfielder, 1962–74 * Noah Lewis,

jug band A jug band is a musical band, band employing a jug (instrument), jug player and a mix of conventional and homemade instruments. These homemade instruments are ordinary objects adapted to or modified for making sound, like the washtub bass, washbo ...

performer

References

{{authority control Towns in Lauderdale County, Tennessee Towns in Tennessee Populated places established in 1873 1873 establishments in Tennessee Majority-minority cities and towns in Tennessee Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians