Henderson County, Texas
The Henderson County Courthouse in Athens
Location within the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location within the U.S.
Founded	1846
Named for	James Pinckney Henderson
Seat	Athens
Largest city	Athens
Area
• Total	948 sq mi (2,455 km2)
• Land	874 sq mi (2,264 km2)
• Water	75 sq mi (194 km2), 7.9%
Population
• (2010)	78,532
• Density	200/sq mi (90/km2)
Congressional district	5th
Time zone	Central: UTC−6/−5
Website	www.co.henderson.tx.us

"Courts Under the Oaks" in Athens

Henderson County Peace Officers Association monument

The Fiddlers Association monument in Athens

Henderson County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 78,532.^[1] The county seat is Athens.^[2] The county is named in honor of James Pinckney Henderson, the first Attorney General of the Republic of Texas, and Secretary of State for the republic.^[3] He later served as the first Governor of Texas.

Henderson County was established in 1846, the year after Texas statehood. Its first town was Buffalo, laid out in 1847.^[4] The county boundaries were set in 1850, with some reduction from the previous size. The restructuring resulted in the need for a new county seat. In an election, Athens was chosen as the site for the "courthouse under the oaks."^[5]

Henderson County comprises the Athens, TX Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX-OK Combined Statistical Area.

Geography[edit]

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 948 square miles (2,460 km²), of which 874 square miles (2,260 km²) is land and 75 square miles (190 km²) (7.9%) is water.^[6]

Major highways[edit]

• 
  U.S. Highway 175
  


• 
  State Highway 19
  


• 
  State Highway 31
  


• 
  State Highway 155
  


• 
  State Highway 198
  


• 
  State Highway 274
  


• 
  State Highway 334
  

Adjacent counties[edit]

• 
  Kaufman County (north)


• 
  Van Zandt County (north)


• 
  Smith County (east)


• 
  Cherokee County (southeast)


• 
  Anderson County (south)


• 
  Freestone County (southwest)


• 
  Navarro County (west)


• 
  Ellis County (northwest)

Demographics[edit]

As of the census^[10] of 2000, there were 73,277 people, 28,804 households, and 20,969 families residing in the county. The population density was 84 people per square mile (32/km²). There were 35,935 housing units at an average density of 41 per square mile (16/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 88.50% White, 6.61% Black or African American, 0.54% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 2.72% from other races, and 1.30% from two or more races. 6.92% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 28,804 households out of which 29.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.70% were married couples living together, 10.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.20% were non-families. 23.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.50 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the county, the population was spread out with 24.40% under the age of 18, 7.60% from 18 to 24, 25.00% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 18.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $32,533, and the median income for a family was $38,255. Males had a median income of $31,847 versus $21,650 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,772. About 11.70% of families and 15.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.60% of those under age 18 and 11.80% of those age 65 or over.

Government[edit]

• County Judge: Richard Sanders


• Commissioner 1: Ken Hays


• Commissioner 2: Wade McKinney


• Commissioner 3: Charles McHam


• Commissioner 4: Ken Geeslin


• County Clerk: Mary Margret Wright


• District Clerk: Betty Herriage


• County Attorney: Clint Davis


• District Attorney: Mark Hall


• County Auditor: Ann Marie Lee


• County Treasurer: Michael Bynum


• County Court at Law Judge: Scott Williams


• County Court at Law 2 Judge: Nancy Perryman


• 3rd District Judge: Mark Calhoon


• 173rd District Judge: Dan Moore


• 392nd District Judge: Scott McKee


• JP 1: Randy Daniel


• Constable 1: Kay Langford


• JP 2: Kevin Pollock


• Constable 2: Mitch Baker


• JP 3: James Duncan


• Constable 3: David Grubbs


• JP 4: Milton Adams


• Constable 4: John Floyd


• JP 5: Belinda Brownlow


• Constable 5: Brad Miers


• Sheriff: Botie Hillhouse


• Tax Assessor/Collector: Peggy Goodall


• Elections Administrator: Denise Hernandez


• Emergency Management Coordinator: Joy Kimbrough


• Fire Marshal: Shane Renburg

James C. Spencer, a former member of the Texas House of Representatives from Henderson County, 1939-1941, 1947-1949,^[11] later served as Henderson county judge from 1949 into the 1950s. He was a survivor of the Bataan Death March in the Philippine Islands.

Politics[edit]

Media[edit]

Henderson County is part of the Dallas/Fort Worth DMA. Local media outlets are: KDFW-TV, KXAS-TV, WFAA-TV, KTVT-TV, KERA-TV, KTXA-TV, KDFI-TV, KDAF-TV, and KFWD-TV. Other nearby stations that provide coverage for Henderson County come from the Tyler/Longview/Jacksonville market and they include: KLTV, KTRE-TV, KYTX-TV, KFXK-TV, KCEB-TV, and KETK-TV.

Newspaper coverage of the area can be found in the Athens Daily Review, based in Athens; The Monitor is published in Mabank, which is primarily in Kaufman County, but also covers news in parts of Henderson County as well.

Crime[edit]

Paul Knight of the Houston Press said in a 2009 article that some people blamed the development of the artificial Cedar Creek Lake, which opened in 1965, and development of the area surrounding the lake for the initial influx of crime and recreational drugs into the county and the East Texas region. Carroll Dyson, a retired pilot and Henderson County resident interviewed by the Houston Press, said in 2009 that the lake attracted "white flight" from metropolitan areas.^[13] Dyson added, "When all your rich people from Dallas and Houston move out here, the thieves are just drawn to them. Thieves are just wired that way. You used to not have to lock your door in Henderson County." Ray Nutt, the sheriff of Henderson County, said in the same article that when the lake first opened, there was no zoning and "a lot of elderly people bought a mobile home and moved in; it was nice. Then they passed away and family members sold them off or just let them go down." Nutt added that the area around the lake has "a lot of good people," yet it also where "a lot of criminals tend to flow."^[14]

Communities[edit]

Cities[edit]

Towns[edit]

Unincorporated communities[edit]

Ghost towns[edit]

• Centreville


• Corinth

See also[edit]

• National Register of Historic Places listings in Henderson County, Texas


• Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks in Henderson County


• Clay Smothers


• Stuart Spitzer

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Henderson County


• 
  Henderson County in Handbook of Texas Online at the University of Texas
  


• TXGenWeb Project for Henderson County

Coordinates: 32°13′N 95°51′W / 32.21°N 95.85°W / 32.21; -95.85