Henderson

Formed March 1, 1846 (45^th county)

Henderson County (82,145), Athens (12,863)

The stately dark red brick and stone Beaux Arts courthouse of Henderson County stands on the square at the intersection of United States Highway 175 and Texas State Highways 19 and 31.  Built in 1913 from the designs of L. L. Thurman, the facility is located on a tree-covered lot in the middle of the city.  It was renovated in 1986, Athens has been the home for all three county courthouses (1850, 1861, 1887) since the March 1, 1846 founding of the county.  Henderson County was part of Nacogdoches and Houston counties and the 45^th county.  The county was named for Governor J. Pinckney Henderson.  He also provided his name to the county seat of Rusk County.  The origin of Athens is believed to be from Athens, Greece or Athens, Georgia. 

Henderson County government consists of a sheriff, a County Judge, and 4 Commissioners.  One District Court Judge serves Henderson, Anderson, and Houston counties and Two District Court Judges and Three County Court Judges serve Henderson County.  The county is in east central Texas in the Pine area.  The Trinity River is the western border and the Neches River is the eastern border of the county.  The county center is in Athens 2.7 miles Northeast of the city center.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Van Zandt, Smith, Cherokee, Anderson, Freestone, Navarro, and Kaufman counties. 

The area of the county is 874 square miles.  It is 177 out of 254 in the state.  It ranks 49 out of 254 in population in the state.  It has a density of 94.0 persons per square mile making it 50 out of 254 in the state.  Henderson County has 45.0% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 175 crosses northwest to southeast, from Kaufman County to Anderson County.  The county looks like a flattened flower vase with an extension at the northwest corner.  Athens is located near the county center.  Athens is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 15.7% of the county population.  This county is in the Athens Micropolitan Statistical Area.