Henry Hollis Horton (February 17, 1866 – July 2, 1934) was an American attorney, farmer and politician who served as the 36th governor of Tennessee from 1927 to 1933. He was elevated to the position when Governor Austin Peay died in office, and as Speaker of the Tennessee Senate, he was first in the line of succession. He retired from politics and returned to his farm in Marshall County.
Early life
Horton was born in 1866 in the Princeton community of Jackson County, Alabama, one of 12 children of Henry Hollis Horton, a Baptist minister, and Anne (Moore) Horton. He attended Scottsboro Academy in Scottsboro, Alabama, He held various local offices, including school director and election commissioner, and worked as director of the Home Bank of Winchester. He was a supporter of prohibition.
During Horton's second term, he and Lea began using state patronage to distribute jobs in Memphis in an attempt to weaken Crump's influence there.
In 1961, the state purchased Horton's Marshall County farm from his heirs. It adapted the land for use as Henry Horton State Park, dedicated to his memory. The ruins of a mill operated by Horton and his in-laws, the Wilhoites, still stand in the park.
A portion of U.S. Route 31 in Marshall County has been named in Horton's honor.
See also
- List of governors of Tennessee
References
External links
- Governor Henry H. Horton Papers (finding aid) – Tennessee State Library and Archives
- Henry Hollis Horton – entry at the National Governors Association
- Portrait painting of Governor Horton – Tennessee Portrait Project
- Profile photograph of Governor Horton – Tennessee State Library and Archives