Henry County, Tennessee

Henry County Education, Geography, and History

Henry County is a county located in the state of Tennessee. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 32,330. Its county seat is Paris. The county is named for the Virginia orator Patrick Henry.

Henry County comprises the Paris, TN Micropolitan Statistical Area.

Etymology - Origin of Henry County Name

Named in honor of Patrick Henny (1736-1799), Virginia statesman, patriot and Revolutionary leader, member of the Virginia colonial and state legislatures and the Continental Congress, governor of Virginia.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

History of Henry County

Created 1821 from Indian lands; named in honor of Patrick Henny (1736-1799), Virginia statesman, patriot and Revolutionary leader, member of the Virginia colonial and state legislatures and the Continental Congress, governor of Virginia.

Henry County was formed in 1821 from Indian lands. (Public Acts of Tennessee 1821, Chapter 32).

Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture
The Tennessee General Assembly created Henry County on November 7, 1821, and named it in honor of Revolutionary War patriot and statesman, Patrick Henry. Henry County became the gateway for the settlement of West Tennessee and beyond. The Henry County Court House was erected in 1823 in Paris, West Tennessee's oldest incorporated municipality. The county counted 31,115 residents in the 2000 census.

During the Civil War, military units, including the Fifth Tennessee Infantry Regiment, organized on the courthouse lawn. Henry County sent more than 2,500 volunteers to the Confederacy and earned the title "Volunteer County of the Volunteer State." In March 1862 General Ulysses S. Grant ordered four companies and a battery of artillery into Paris. The Union forces attacked an encampment of 400 Confederate soldiers but retreated toward Paris Landing after a short engagement. In October 1864 General Nathan Bedford Forrest began his Johnsonville campaign at Paris Landing, where he captured four Union gunboats, fourteen transports, twenty barges, twenty-six pieces of artillery, $6,700,000 worth of property, and 150 prisoners. Find more from the Tennessee Encyclopedia of History and Culture: HENRY COUNTY

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 593 square miles (1,537 km²), of which, 562 square miles (1,455 km²) of it is land and 32 square miles (82 km²) of it (5.35%) is water.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Calloway County, Kentucky (north)
• Stewart County (northeast)
• Benton County (southeast)
• Carroll County (south)
• Weakley County (west)
• Graves County, Kentucky (northwest)

Education

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