Henderson County, Texas

Henderson County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 78,532.[1] The county seat is Athens.[2] The county is named in honor of James Pinckney Henderson, the first attorney general of the Republic of Texas, and secretary of state for the republic.[3] He later served as the first governor of Texas.

Henderson County was established in 1846, the year after Texas gained statehood. Its first town was Buffalo, laid out in 1847.[4] The county boundaries were set in 1850, with some reduction from the previous size. The restructuring resulted in the need for a new county seat. In an election, Athens was chosen as the site for the “courthouse under the oaks.”[5]

Henderson County comprises the Athens micropolitan statistical area, which is also included in the Dallas-Fort Worth combined statistical area.