Henry County, Virginia: 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 10,000-acre (40 km2) 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).