Henderson County, Texas

Henderson County, located in East Texas between the Neches and Trinity Rivers, is surrounded by Kaufman and Van Zandt Counties to the north, Smith County to the east, Cherokee County to the southeast, Anderson County to the south, Freestone County to the southwest, Navarro County to the west and Ellis County to the northwest. Athens, the largest city and county seat, is near the center of the county about sixty miles southeast of Dallas on U.S. Highway 175, at the intersection of State highways 31 and 19.

Cities, Towns & Communities

Antioch | Athens – county seat | Baxter | Berryville | Brownsboro | Buffalo | Caney City | Centerville | Chandler | Coffee City | Cross Roads | Enchanted Oaks | Eustace | Gun Barrel City | Larue | Leagueville | Log Cabin | Mabank | Malakoff | Mankin | Midway | Moore Station | Murchison| New York | Opelika | Payne Springs | Poynor | Seven Points | Star Harbor | Tool | Trinidad

History

The Texas legislature established Henderson County on April 27, 1846, and named it in honor of James Pinckney Henderson, first governor of the state of Texas. The county was formed from parts of Nacogdoches and Houston counties. Its court was first held in the home of William Ware, and later, William Love. Henderson County was organized on August 4, 1846, and comprised 3,500 square miles at the time. Buffalo was the county seat until March 1848. Bennett H. Martin presided over the first district court in Buffalo in 1847. Centerville, six miles west of the site of present Eustace, near the center of the county, was to be the permanent county seat. James Harper Starr donated 100 acres of land in the John P. Brown survey for the town, and on September 11, 1848, Chief Justice B. Graham held court there. But Centerville did not remain the county seat. On April 2, 1849, the archives and county government were returned to Buffalo, for reasons not exactly clear, and Centerville ceased to exist.

County Histories

A Memorial and Biographical History of Navarro, Henderson, Anderson, Limestone, Freestone and Leon Counties, Texas, 1883. Digital book on line from The Portal to Texas History.

Defenders: A Confederate History of Henderson County, Texas, 1969 by Leila Reeves Eads, Henderson County Historical Survey Committee. History of Henderson County, 1929 by J. J. Faulk.

Location

Athens, TX 32° 12′ 17.5464″ N, 95° 51′ 19.8756″ W

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