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 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. 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 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 risk.
Demographics
2020 census
{| class="wikitable"
|+Henning racial composition
!Race
!Num.
!Perc.
|-
|White (non-Hispanic)
|153
|17.57%
|-
|Black or African American (non-Hispanic)
|621
|71.3%
|-
|Native American
|39
|4.48%
|-
|Other/Mixed
|37
|4.25%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino
|21
|2.41%
|}
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
The Tennessee Department of Corrections operates the West Tennessee State Penitentiary in unincorporated Lauderdale County, near Henning. Previously the Cold Creek Correctional Facility was located in the area.
Henning is home to a community of Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. 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.
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
thumb|Historical marker in front of [[Alex Haley's boyhood home (2007)]]
- John Henry Barbee, blues guitarist known for his connection to Chicago's blues scene
- Ramon Foster, offensive lineman for Pittsburgh Steelers
- 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 performer