Henderson County, Tennessee: History
Henderson County was established in 1821; it was named after Lt. Colonel James Henderson, Jr. (1775–1814), of the Tennessee State Militia, who was killed in late December 1814 below New Orleans during a clash with the British Army. Henderson is said to have served in earlier conflicts such as the Creek Indian war, which took place during the same overall time period as the War of 1812.
After the Battle of New Orleans, Major General William Carroll’s Tennessee brigade, which was the largest single force under General Andrew Jackson’s command in Louisiana, established their outgoing camp upriver from New Orleans and named it Camp Henderson.
General Carroll's first term as the Governor of Tennessee began the same year that Henderson County was established.
The county seat, Lexington, was laid out in 1822. Like many Tennessee counties, Henderson was divided during the Civil War. Confederate sentiment was strongest in the western half of the county (where most of the county's plantations were located), while Union support was strongest in the hilly eastern half. In Tennessee's Ordinance of Secession referendum on June 8, 1861, Henderson County voted to remain in the Union by a margin of 1,013 to 800, being one of only eight counties in West or Middle Tennessee to vote against secession. Earlier on February 9, 1861, Henderson County voters had voted against holding a secession convention by a margin of 1,105 to 619.