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.
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 , 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.
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).