When was Henderson County founded?

Henderson County was founded in 1821, formed from Hardin County, and named after James Henderson.

What is the county seat of Henderson County?

The county seat of Henderson County is Lexington.

Is there an online parcel map for Henderson County?

Yes. Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Property Assessments (published by the Office of Information Resources) publishes a parcel map of 18,063 parcels, rated official here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.

Has Henderson County's boundary or name changed?

Henderson County was created in 1821 from Hardin County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 20 later changes, most of them small boundary adjustments, chiefly involving Decatur County, Chester County and Carroll County.

Is my lot in a flood zone?

We do not have flood maps for Henderson County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

County · code 47077

Henderson CountyTennessee

Henderson County is in Tennessee and was formed on November 7, 1821, from Hardin County. The county seat is Lexington.

Founded1821
County seatLexington
Named forJames Henderson
Land area520 sq mi + 5.9 sq mi water
Population27,842 2020 Census
Parcels mapped18,063 checked 14 October 2026

Open the free map Click any parcel in Henderson County: acreage, parcel id, address and who publishes the map. No sign-in.

Updated 19 October 2026

Census outline · seat marked

History

Formed in 1821 from Hardin County

An old deed may name a county that no longer exists, or a boundary that has since moved.

Henderson County was created from Hardin County and non-county area in 1821 and named after James Henderson. The county gained and lost territory through the 19th century, including exchanges with Hardin, McNairy, Decatur, and Madison counties, and experienced several unsuccessful attempts to carve new counties from its land.

Boundary changes from the Newberry Library, Atlas of Historical County Boundaries; the 5 that matter most are shown first.

1821
Henderson County created Henderson created from Hardin and Non-County Area 4.
from Hardin
7 November 1821 · Tenn. Acts 1821, 14th assy., 1st sess., pub., ch. 32, sec. 9/p. 42
1846
Lost territory Henderson lost to creation of Decatur.
to Decatur
6 April 1846 · Tenn. Acts 1845, 26th assy., ch. 7, secs. 11-12, 18/pp. 38-39 and ch. 62, secs. 1, 7-8/pp. 122-123
1847
Gained territory Henderson gained from Decatur.
from Decatur
1 December 1847 · Tenn. Acts 1847, 27th assy., ch. 15/p. 44
1882
Lost territory Henderson lost to creation of Chester.
to Chester
1 April 1882 · Tenn. Acts 1879, 41st assy., 1st sess., ch. 42, secs. 1-2, 4, 15/pp. 59-60, 63; Goodspeed [E], 808; "John Brown et al. v. Joel F. Hamlett et al." in Tenn. Rpts., 76:731-738
1893
Lost territory Henderson lost to Carroll.
to Carroll
9 February 1893 · Tenn. Acts 1893, 48th assy., ch. 3/p. 4

Show all 23 changes (18 more, mostly small adjustments)

1821
Henderson County created Henderson created from Hardin and Non-County Area 4.
from Hardin
7 November 1821 · Tenn. Acts 1821, 14th assy., 1st sess., pub., ch. 32, sec. 9/p. 42
1823
Gained territory Henderson gained from Hardin.
from Hardin from McNairy
31 October 1823 · Tenn. Acts 1823, 15th assy., 1st sess., ch. 137/p. 137
1823
Boundary clarified Henderson boundaries clarified (no change).
no change
13 November 1823 · Tenn. Acts 1823, 15th assy., 1st sess., ch. 206/p. 184
1846
Lost territory Henderson lost to creation of Decatur.
to Decatur
6 April 1846 · Tenn. Acts 1845, 26th assy., ch. 7, secs. 11-12, 18/pp. 38-39 and ch. 62, secs. 1, 7-8/pp. 122-123
1847
Gained territory Henderson gained from Decatur.
from Decatur
1 December 1847 · Tenn. Acts 1847, 27th assy., ch. 15/p. 44
1849
Boundary clarified Boundary between Henderson and Decatur clarified (no change).
with Decaturno change
8 November 1849 · Tenn. Acts 1849, 28th assy., ch. 92/p. 283
1852
Changed Legislature authorized creation of Christian from Henderson and three other counties; creation did not take effect.
Christian
24 February 1852 · Tenn. Acts 1851, 29th assy., ch. 219, sec. 1/p. 327; ch. 195, secs. 1-2, 14/pp. 288, 292 and no. 17/p. 730; HRS Tenn., Crockett, 4; McBride, 8
1856
Lost territory Henderson lost to Decatur to accommodate local resident.
to Decatur
25 February 1856 · Tenn. Acts 1855, 31st assy., ch. 173, secs. 1-5, 8-9/pp. 264-266
1869
Lost territory Henderson lost small area to Madison. Legislature authorized creation of Grant from Henderson and three other counties; creation did not take effect.
to Madisonto Grant
25 February 1869 · Tenn. Acts 1868, 35th assy., 2d sess., pub., ch. 39, secs. 1-3, 5, 15/pp. 53-54, 56; McBride, 8
1870
Changed Legislature authorized creation of Etheridge from Henderson and four other counties; creation did not take effect.
Etheridge
6 June 1870 · Tenn. Acts 1870, 36th assy., 2d sess., ch. 3, secs. 1-2, 4-7/pp. 9-12; McBride, 8
1873
Lost territory Henderson lost to Decatur to accommodate local residents.
to Decatur
24 March 1873 · Tenn. Acts 1873, 38th assy., ch. 100/p. 134
1875
Changed Legislature authorized creation of Wisdom from Henderson and three other counties; creation did not take effect.
Wisdom
23 March 1875 · Tenn. Acts 1875, 39th assy., ch. 68, secs. 1-2, 4/pp. 83-84; McBride, 9
1877
Changed Legislature authorized creation of Hanes from Henderson and three other counties; creation did not take effect.
Hanes
19 March 1877 · Tenn. Acts 1877, 40th assy., 1st sess., ch. 14, secs. 1-2, 4/pp. 21-22; McBride, 9
1881
Gained territory Henderson gained small area from Decatur.
from Decatur
5 April 1881 · Tenn. Acts 1881, 42d assy., 1st sess., ch. 130/p. 180
1882
Lost territory Henderson lost to creation of Chester.
to Chester
1 April 1882 · Tenn. Acts 1879, 41st assy., 1st sess., ch. 42, secs. 1-2, 4, 15/pp. 59-60, 63; Goodspeed [E], 808; "John Brown et al. v. Joel F. Hamlett et al." in Tenn. Rpts., 76:731-738
1883
Lost territory Henderson lost to Carroll to accommodate local residents.
to Carroll
14 March 1883 · Tenn. Acts 1883, 43d assy., ch. 56/p. 57
1885
Lost territory Henderson lost to Decatur to accommodate local resident.
to Decaturto Henderson-Decatur
18 February 1885 · Tenn. Acts 1885, 44th assy., ch. 13/p. 55
1893
Lost territory Henderson lost to Carroll.
to Carroll
9 February 1893 · Tenn. Acts 1893, 48th assy., ch. 3/p. 4
1893
Changed Legislature authorized Chester to gain from Henderson; gain did not take effect.
Chester
5 April 1893 · Tenn. Acts 1893, 48th assy., ch. 81/p. 108
1903
Lost territory Henderson lost to Madison to accommodate local resident.
to Madison
25 March 1903 · Tenn. Acts 1903, 53d assy., ch. 186/p. 428
1903
Gained territory Henderson gained from Hardin to accommodate local resident.
from Hardin
2 April 1903 · Tenn. Acts 1903, 53d assy., ch. 528/p. 1405
1905
Lost territory Henderson lost to Chester to accommodate local residents.
to Chester
4 April 1905 · Tenn. Acts 1905, 54th assy., ch. 161/p. 352
1972
Lost territory Henderson lost to Chester to accommodate local resident.
to Chester
13 April 1972 · Tenn. Acts 1972, 87th assy., 2d reg. sess., pub., ch. 738/p. 927

Land and parcels

What the maps cover in Henderson

Who publishes each layer, how good it is, and when we last checked.

Parcels Official

Lot lines and tax-map numbers for 18,063 parcels from Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Property Assessments (published by the Office of Information Resources). Drawn for tax purposes: usually within a few feet of a survey, but not a survey.
edited 10 September 2026 · checked 14 October 2026
Address points Official

One point per address, 17,612 in all from TECB and local 911 districts via TNMap (tnmap_oir).
edited 6 October 2026 · checked 14 October 2026
Buildings Reference

Roof outlines traced from aerial imagery from FEMA Response Geospatial Office with Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL). Good for seeing what is on a lot; not accurate enough to set a fence from.
checked 18 October 2026

Official: from the office that keeps the record
Good enough: a reliable statewide or national copy
Fallback: a guide only; check the official record
Missing: nothing public found yet

People and land

Henderson by the Census

Population

27,842 2020 Census count

Housing units

12,867 2020 Census count

Land area

520 square miles

Water area

5.9 square miles

People per sq mi

54 population ÷ land area

Source: US Census Bureau, 2020 Census; US Census Bureau, 2020 Gazetteer Files. Not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.

Rules and offices

Henderson County's official site

We have found the county's site but not its offices yet; start there.

County government

County government
The official website of Henderson County.
hendersoncountytn.gov

See your own lot on these maps

Open Henderson County on Parcel Chart's free map and click your parcel. Save it with a free account; the full record of your place (site map, projects, documents) is Pro, in early access.

Open the free map no sign-in Pro early access

Questions

Common questions about Henderson County

When was Henderson County founded?: Henderson County was founded in 1821, formed from Hardin County, and named after James Henderson.
What is the county seat of Henderson County?: The county seat of Henderson County is Lexington.
Is there an online parcel map for Henderson County?: Yes. Tennessee Comptroller of the Treasury, Division of Property Assessments (published by the Office of Information Resources) publishes a parcel map of 18,063 parcels, rated official here. You can click any parcel on it in Parcel Chart's free map, no sign-in needed.
Has Henderson County's boundary or name changed?: Henderson County was created in 1821 from Hardin County. Since then the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries records 20 later changes, most of them small boundary adjustments, chiefly involving Decatur County, Chester County and Carroll County.
Is my lot in a flood zone?: We do not have flood maps for Henderson County yet. Look up the address on FEMA's Flood Map Service Center, which shows the effective flood map for any lot.

Nearby