Henderson

Formed January 1, 1841 (88^th county)

Henderson County (6,385), Oquawka (1,131)

A Colonial and Greek Revival style red brick, columned courthouse was built in 1843 at Warren and 4^th streets.  Illinois State Highway 164 is four blocks east of the site.  Alexis Phelps provided for the building designs.  The structure has been enlarged.  The building is the second oldest active courthouse in the state and features columns and a protective canon.  The county was established on January 1, 1841 out of Warren County as the 88^th county with Oquawka as the only county seat.  Henderson County is named for Henderson County, Kentucky.  The county seat is Native American for “yellow banks.” 

Henderson County government consists of a sheriff, an attorney, a coroner, a clerk, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 10 Board Members (legislative.)  Fifteen Circuit Court Judges serve Henderson, Fulton, Hancock, Knox, McDonough, and Warren counties and a court clerk serves Henderson County (judicial.) Henderson County is located in western Illinois on the border with Iowa.  Peoria, Illinois is east and Davenport, Iowa is north of the county.  The county center is 9 miles South of Oquawka nearer Gladstone.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Mercer, Warren, McDonough, and Hancock counties and Iowa.  The Mississippi River forms its western border. 

The area of the county is 378 square miles.  It is 78 out of 102 in the state.  It ranks 91 out of 102 in population in the state.  It has a density of 16.9 persons per square mile making it 99 out of 102 in the state.  Henderson County has 52.2% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 34 crosses the southern part of the county from Warren County to Iowa.  The county is shaped like the State of New Hampshire.  Oquawka is in the northwest on the border with Iowa.  Oquawka is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 17.7% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced OE-KWA-KA.  This county is in the Burlington Micropolitan Statistical Area.