Henry County, Virginia

thumb|right|250px|Virginia state historical marker for Henry County

Henry County is a county located in the U.S. state of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 50,948. The county seat is traditionally identified as Martinsville; however it is essentially a ghost seat, as the administration building (where county offices are located and where the board of supervisors holds meetings), county courthouse, and Henry County Sheriff's Office are located on Kings Mountain Road (SR 174) in Collinsville.The Henry County Adult Detention Center is located on DuPont Road in Henry County, just south of Martinsville.

Henry County is part of the Martinsville Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The county was established in 1777 when it was carved from Pittsylvania County. The new county was initially named Patrick Henry County in honor of Patrick Henry, who was then serving as the first governor of Virginia, and some of whose relatives had settled in the area. Governor Henry also had a plantation called "Leatherwood plantation" (for Leatherwood Creek) in the newly named county (where he ended up spending 5 years between his first and second gubernatorial terms).

Founding and Nomenclature

Despite common misconceptions, Henry County was never formally named "Patrick Henry County." According to The Statutes at Large; Being a Collection of All the Laws of Virginia (William Waller Hening, Vol. 9, pp. 241–242), the legislative act passed during the October 1776 session defined the new entity as follows:

"An act for dividing the county of Pittsylvania into two distinct counties... Be it therefore enacted by the General Assembly of the commonwealth of Virginia... That from and after the last day of December next ensuing the said county of Pittsylvania be divided into two counties... and that all that part of the said county which lies to the westward of the said line shall be one distinct county, and called and known by the name of Henry, and that all the other part thereof which lies to the eastward of the said line shall be one other distinct county, and retain the name Pittsylvania."

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The act further mandated the establishment of local governance:

"And for the administration of justice in the said county of Henry, Be it enacted... That after the said last day of December a court for the said county of Henry be held by the justices thereof upon the third Monday in every month..."

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Historical Analysis of the Founding Date

While the enabling legislation was passed in late 1776, the statutory language dictates that Henry County did not legally or operationally exist until January 1, 1777.

Effective Date: The clause "from and after the last day of December next ensuing" establishes January 1 as the effective date of the county’s legal birth.
Administrative Activation: The first county court—the primary body of local government and record-keeping at the time—was not authorized to meet until the third Monday of January 1777.
Nomenclature: The legislative record confirms the county was designated solely as "Henry." While named in honor of then-Governor Patrick Henry, the formal title "Patrick Henry County" does not appear in the founding statutes.

Early Settlers

thumb|left|190px|Major John Redd, [[Continental Army, pioneer settler of Henry County]]

In 1785 the northern part of Patrick Henry County was combined with part of Bedford County to form Franklin County. In 1790, Patrick Henry County was split again: the western part became Patrick County and the rest remained Henry County.

Other notable early settlers included: George Waller, Captain George Hairston and Major John Redd, all of whom were present at the surrender of General Cornwallis at Yorktown; Col. Abram Penn, a native of Amherst County, Virginia, who led his Henry County militia troops with the intention of joining General Nathanael Greene at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse during the Revolutionary War; and Brigadier General Joseph Martin, for whom Martinsville is named. Also prominent were Mordecai Hord, a native of Louisa County and explorer, who lived on his plantation called Hordsville; and Col. John Dillard, born in Amherst County, Virginia in 1751, wounded at the Battle of Princeton during the Revolution, and later a member of the Committee of Safety. Captain Robert Hairston, a noted politician in the Colony of Virginia, owned Marrowbone plantation, commanded a militia company and served as Henry County's first high sheriff.

During the War of 1812, the 64th Virginia Militia, under Captain Graves, was formed in 1815 from Henry County. Benjamin Dyer was a lieutenant, then later a captain, of the 5th company of the 64th Virginia Militia. Private Alexander Hunter Bassett would later work large tobacco plantations in the county, and Wyatt Jarrett. Tavner Hailey (b.1793) of Martinsville became an early pioneer in Tennessee and served in the War of 1812. He was 1st Cpl. in Captain Brice Edward's Company, 64th Regiment, Virginia Militia."

During the American Civil War, the 42nd Virginia Infantry was formed in part from Henry County volunteers. Its state senator, Christopher Y. Thomas, owned Henry's former Leatherwood plantation and would later briefly serve in the U.S. House of Representatives after the war. He was succeeded by George Cabell, a Confederate army veteran (38th Virginia Infantry) born in nearby Danville and from a family long prominent in the area.

In 1902, the Henry County Historical Society was incorporated at Martinsville with its first officers being John W. Carter, J. Harrison Spencer and C. B. Bryant.

Geography

thumb|right|250px|Greenwood, built by Col. Joseph Martin, son of [[Joseph Martin (general)|General Joseph Martin, namesake of Martinsville, at Axton, Henry County, 1808–1810]]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water. Henry County is one of the 423 counties served by the Appalachian Regional Commission, and it is identified as part of "Greater Appalachia" by Colin Woodard in his book American Nations: A History of the Eleven Rival Regional Cultures of North America.

Districts

The county's six districts are as follows, in alphabetical order: Axton, Bassett, Collinsville, Horsepasture, Reed Creek, and Ridgeway.

Adjacent counties

Franklin County - north
Pittsylvania County - east
Rockingham County, North Carolina - south
Stokes County, North Carolina - southwest
Patrick County - west
Martinsville - surrounded by Henry County

Major highways

(future)