Henderson County, Tennessee

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. 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 526 sqmi, of which 5.8 sqmi (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

|Lexington, TN |27.0|47.5|4.00 |30.9|52.4|4.48 |37.8|61.9|4.62 |46.2|71.5|4.44 |55.7|79.1|5.75 |64.7|86.6|3.69 |68.2|89.6|4.12 |67.4|89.5|3.12 |59.5|83.6.9|3.52 |47.5|72.9|4.23 |38.6|61.8|4.25 |30.0|50.0|4.92 |access-date = April 16, 2020 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

Demographics

|align-fn=center 1790-1960 1900-1990 1990-2000 2010-2014

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 27,842 people, 11,392 households, and 7,113 families residing in the county. The median age was 42.2 years, with 22.6% of residents under the age of 18 and 19.3% aged 65 or older. For every 100 females there were 95.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.4 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 86.5% White, 7.0% Black or African American, 0.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% Asian,

A total of 22.8% of residents lived in urban areas, while 77.2% lived in rural areas.

There were 11,392 households in the county, of which 30.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 47.1% were married-couple households, 18.5% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 29.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 12,867 housing units, of which 11.5% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 72.3% were owner-occupied and 27.7% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.7%.

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 49 /mi2. The 11,446 housing units had an average density of 22 /mi2. 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 5 nmi 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. 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.

References

References

1. "Find a County". National Association of Counties.
2. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau.
3. W.C. Crooks, "[http://tennesseeencyclopedia.net/entry.php?rec=620 Henderson County]," ''Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture''. Retrieved: October 17, 2013.
4. [http://sos.tn.gov/products/tsla/regimental-histories-tennessee-units-during-war-1812 Regimental Histories of Tennessee Units During the War of 1812; refer to 1st infantry regiment under Col. William Metcalf.] Accessed February 8, 2017.
5. "Tennessee Secession Referendum, 1861". Vote Archive.
6. (March 21, 1861). "Tennessee Vote on Secession Convention, 1861". [[The Fayetteville Observer.
7. (August 22, 2012). "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
8. "Lexington, Tennessee Climate Classification". Weatherbase.
9. "Population and Housing Unit Estimates".
10. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau.
11. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library.
12. (March 27, 1995). "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau.
13. (April 2, 2001). "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000". United States Census Bureau.
14. "Explore Census Data".
15. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic Profile (DP1)".
16. (2021). "2020 Decennial Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171)".
17. (2023). "2020 Decennial Census Demographic and Housing Characteristics (DHC)".
18. "U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
19. 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
20. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections".