Henderson, Kentucky

Henderson is a city in Henderson County, Kentucky, United States, along the Ohio River in the western part of the state. The population was 28,757 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Evansville Metropolitan Area often referred to as "Kentuckiana", although "Tri-State Area" or "Tri-State" are more commonly used by the local media. Some travelers view it as the "gateway" to the South or Midwest. The city was named after Colonel Richard Henderson, by Gen. Samuel Hopkins and Thomas Allin.

Notable residents have included the ornithologist, naturalist, and painter John James Audubon, as well as blues legend W.C. Handy. For more than 100 years the city has been home to the Southern Cherokee Nation.



18th century
Henderson has its roots in a small, block-wide strip of land high above the Ohio River, currently the site of Audubon Mill Park (directly south of the city's riverfront boat dock). A village on this site was called "Red Banks" by the Cherokee who historically lived and hunted there, because of the reddish clay soil on the tall banks of the river. By the early and mid 1790s, Red Banks had a tavern and residents included several European-American families, as well as the Cherokee. On 16 Nov 1792, "Red Banks" resident Robert Simpson wrote to Colonel Alexander D. Orr in Lexington, requesting help to appoint a magistrate in Red Banks, as he believed that some of its 30 families were of dubious character and engaged in criminal activities, creating the need for a justice system. By late 1792, free male inhabitants (who did not include Cherokee, not counted as citizens) totaled 62 people in Red Banks or Charleston, Ohio, then part of Logan County, Kentucky.

On March 17, 1775, North Carolina judge Colonel Richard Henderson, his group the Transylvania Company, and others sought to purchase much of the territory lying between the Cumberland and Kentucky Rivers from 1,200 Cherokee Indians gathered at Sycamore Shoals (located at present-day Elizabethton, Tennessee). This comprises modern-day Kentucky and Tennessee, amounting to over 17,000,000 acres of land. Their plan was to resell the frontier lands to settlers.

Although the Virginia General Assembly voided the deal, as it claimed the sole right to purchase land from the Indians within the bounds of the Royal Charter, it granted Henderson and his company 200,000 acres (800 km²) in exchange for their efforts to develop what they considered a wilderness region. That ground was located where the Green River flows into the Ohio River. Henderson hired Daniel Boone to survey the country and select favorable sites, but he died before his namesake town was developed. On behalf of other investors and their heirs, Gen. Samuel Hopkins and a surveyor named Thomas Allin in 1797 visited Red Banks and laid out plans for a town, which was named Henderson.

By October 29, 1799, a tax list completed a census for the city and county of Henderson, Kentucky. Cesus information showed that the population of town was 183 with the county having 423 residents, 207 slaves, and 412 horses. A distinguishing characteristic of the new town plan was unusually wide streets, reportedly to prevent a fire in one block from easily spreading to another. Even with diagonal parking spaces outlined on downtown streets, there is enough space for delivery trucks to park in the center of the streets without interfering with two-way traffic.

19th century
By mid-century, Henderson County had become a major producer of tobacco, much of which was exported to Great Britain. It was reported to be the largest dark tobacco producer in the world; large tobacco warehouses and stemmeries dotted the downtown Henderson area. Postcards from the era show long lines of horse/mule-drawn wagons piled high with tobacco, waiting their turn to unload for shipment downriver. Some tobacco processors accumulated considerable fortunes. Undocumented claims say that in 1860, Henderson ranked second only to Heidelberg, Germany, in terms of per capital wealth.

20th century
Shortly before World War I, Henderson was said to have more millionaires than any city in the world for its size. But Great Britain imposed a high tariff on imported tobacco after World War I, wrecking the county and city's export market. Tobacco warehouses and plants closed, and the community's economic fortunes reversed. The last tobacco facility, the Soaper Tobacco Warehouse on Pennell Street, closed in 1984.

As a regional trading center, Henderson continued in the 20th century. Businesses were concentrated in the downtown area. In the early 20th century, Henderson's city had very recognizable neighborhoods, or unincorporated places, within the city and the outlying edges of town. Neighborhoods were: Audubon, Weaverton, Audubon Heights; segments of Audubon and Weaverton were sometimes referred to as the "East End". "East End" held the second biggest business area next to downtown Henderson.

Natural disasters
Henderson had unusual weather patterns in the late 1800s and early 1900s. The "great sleet" of 1901 fell for three weeks in February and "horses had to have special shoes to keep their footing on local roads". In 1908 the Henderson area had high temperatures and a drought, reducing the Ohio River. The Henderson Daily Gleaner reported that "boys were playing baseball every day in the middle of the old riverbed". All businesses were challenged and forced to close. A Henderson reporter wrote, "[I]t is almost hazardous for even small gasoline boats to run".

On June 20, 1914, Henderson was hit by a "baby cyclone." Jack Hudgions, local historian and newsman, wrote that "hail as large as partridge eggs fell for ten minutes and that powerful winds uprooted giant trees "and twisted limbs from shade trees in the city." In the northern part of Henderson, several buildings were blown down and wheat stocks were scattered. The storm lasted for more than 30 minutes, laying crops low throughout the county. Telephone lines were damaged and windows broken in the city and county by the hail stones. Twenty-six days later, the city was hit by a tornado that left two dead and much of the city in ruins.

In 1937, 21 inches of precipitation fell in 18 days over the Ohio River watershed. While many cities were inundated from the Ohio River flood of 1937, Henderson, on its bluff, was spared much of the damage that Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, Louisville, Evansville, Paducah and others suffered. Leigh Harris, the publisher of the Henderson Gleaner and Evening Journal newspapers, wrote, "Henderson is on the river but never in it!" Its favorable location helped the city develop new industries.

Geography
Henderson is located at 37.83556°N, -87.58083°W (37.835587, -87.580713). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 17.1 square miles (44.2 km²), of which, 15.0 square miles (38.8 km²) of it is land and 2.1 square miles (5.5 km²) of it (12.36%) is water.

Because the Indiana-Kentucky border is defined as the low-water mark on the north bank of the Ohio River as of 1792, and because the river changed course as a result of the New Madrid Earthquake of 1812, a small portion of Henderson County (approximately 4 mi long and 1 mi wide), lies north of the current course of the river in what would appear to be part of Indiana. Both the Bi-State Vietnam Gold Star Bridges and the Ellis Park Racecourse horse racing track are located entirely within Kentucky. The racetrack uses Indiana's 812 area code despite officially being located in Kentucky.

Transportation
Henderson provides mass transit to as many citizens as possible in the service area. The Henderson Area Rapid Transit (HART) was created in 1957 as a publicly owned mass transit system, of which all citizens who live in the City of Henderson are part owners.

's Bi-State Vietnam Gold Star Bridges connects the city with Evansville to the north and, to the south, the cities of Madisonville and Hopkinsville.

Zip codes and Area codes
The Zip codes used in the city of Henderson are 42419 and 42420, and it uses the area code 270. Although the Ellis Park Racecourse racing track, as mentioned above, actually uses Indiana's 812 area code despite officially being located in Henderson County,

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 27,373 people, 12,253 households, and 7,949 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,829.0 people per square mile (706.0/km²). There were 13,212 housing units at an average density of 845.4 per square mile (326.3/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 84.1% White, 11.8% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.7% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.58% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.27% of the population.

There were 11,693 households out of which 29.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.5% were married couples living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.8% were non-families. 32.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.86.

In the city the population was spread out with 23.5% under the age of 18, 9.2% from 18 to 24, 29.5% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 89.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $35,790, and the median income for a family was $45,250. Males had a median income of $37,494 versus $27,588 for females. The per capita income for the city was $23,288. About 13.2% of families and 16.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.6% of those under age 18 and 11.3% of those age 65 or over.

Economy
The county has numerous industries, including aluminum production, automotive and appliance parts, plastic injection molding, tool and die making, food processing and processing of recycled materials. In June 2008, of the 20,205 jobs in Henderson, almost 12% were government jobs. It also ranks as one of Kentucky's top three corn and soybean producers. Henderson is also one of the state's leading coal producers, with over 2.8 million tons produced in 2004.

Education
The Henderson County school system includes eight elementary schools: A.B. Chandler, Spottsville, East Heights, Bend Gate, South Heights, Jefferson, Cairo, and Niagara; two middle schools, North Middle and South Middle; and one high school, Henderson County High School. There is also a school for students with mental and/or physical deficiencies, Riverview, and an alternative school for those suspended from the other schools in the district, Central Learning Center. There is one parochial school, Holy Name of Jesus Catholic School.

Henderson is home to one postsecondary institution, Henderson Community College, as well as a satellite campus of Murray State University. In addition, students are also served by Oakland City University Evansville Center, University of Evansville, and University of Southern Indiana in neighboring Evansville, Indiana.

Annual festivals
Each year Henderson hosts a variety of events and festivals. The Henderson Breakfast Lions Club holds the Tri-Fest, a street festival that raises funds for non-profit organizations, in mid-April each year. There is also the free Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival in mid-June and the free Bluegrass in the Park Folklife Festival in August. Anuual barbecuings has been a Henderson tradition dating as far back to the annual barbecue started on Sunday, July 18, 1926 in Atkinson Park by the Henderson Freight Station employees. Notable foods were lamb, burgoo, etc.

Bluegrass in the Park Folklife Festival is one of the largest free Bluegrass festivals in the country. It is Henderson's oldest on-going music festival and marked its 25th continuous year in 2010. Past performers have included Bill Monroe, Emmylou Harris, Alison Krauss and Union Station, Ricky Skaggs, John Hartford, Glen Campbell, and other notable Bluegrass artists. The Folklife aspect of the festival is a celebration of local lifestyles and culture with displays on recreational folklife (traditional games), functional folklife (quilting, tatting, chair-caning, basket-making, fly-tying), oral traditions (storytelling), folk music, food traditions (curing country hams, making burgoo, the craft of barbecue), and foreign cultures that have integrated with local traditions, among other things.

The Green River Arts & Crafts Festival is a large event that has been held for more than 30 years on a weekend in early October at John James Audubon State Park and organized by the Green River Area Development District.

Music and film
Blues legend W.C. Handy spent nearly a decade in Henderson. In an interview with Joe Creason of the Louisville Courier-Journal, done a few years before he died but not published until March 9, 1973, Handy said: "I didn’t write any songs in Henderson, but it was there I realized that experiences I had had, things I had seen and heard could be set down in a kind of music characteristic of my race. There I learned to appreciate the music of my people … then the blues were born, because from that day on, I started thinking about putting my own experience down in that particular kind of music." Each year, Henderson honors Handy by holding one of the largest outdoor free concerts in the USA, the Handy Blues & Barbecue Festival.

A few scenes from the movie A League of Their Own were shot in Henderson, including boarding house scenes that were filmed at a stately home at 612 North Main St. that was once the home of Augustus Owsley Stanley, a governor of Kentucky and U.S. senator. These include the scene in which the character Dottie Hinson (Geena Davis) is reunited with her husband Bob (Bill Pullman), who has been overseas fighting during World War II, and she leaves the women's baseball team.

Ellis Park
A main attraction in Henderson is the Ellis Park Race Course, which was originally the Dade Park. The park was built in 1922 by the Green River Jockey Club. Ellis Park is located on the Indiana side of the Ohio river, but the land from Waterworks and Shawnee Roads in Evansville, Indiana south to the Ohio River, are actually part of Henderson County, Kentucky. Ellis Park ranked 6th, out of 65 Thoroughbred racetracks, right behind Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky, against all North American horse racing tracks as the best wagering opportunity according to Horseplayers Association of North America (HANA).

Sporting events
In 1994, the Henderson Recreational Association signed a contract with the Babe Ruth League, Inc. to host the 1994 Bambino World Series. This was the first time the city of Henderson had ever hosted a major sporting event. Park Field was the intended site for the Series but didn't meet the BRL requirements. The city had to construct a bigger and better-equipped stadium. Construction on the project began in 1992 and ended in the early part of 1994. After the renovations, seating in Park Field was increased to 5,500. The playing field was resurfaced, and many other improvements were made.

On August 10, 1994, the first pitch of the 1994 Bambino World Series was thrown out. Thousands of fans packed into Park Field to watch the event. A week of baseball was set, bringing in qualifying teams from all over the United States and the Virgin Islands. Kennewick, Washington took home the crown. Two years later, the town decided to bring the Series back to Henderson. The event was dedicated to former Kentucky Senator and former Henderson resident A.B. "Happy" Chandler. This time the Series would be publicized more in the media by networking a 24-hour television station dedicated entirely to the event. On the day of the event the town newspaper, The Gleaner, created a huge informational program for the event including the teams, bios, pictures and even a baseball card treatment to the host team, the Henderson All-Stars. The 1996 Bambino World Series began on August 17, 1996. The Henderson All-Star Team advanced all the way to the National Championship game, something no other host team has been able to accomplish. But the hometown team was not enough for the 8-time Bambino World Series National Champion Oakland, California and lost 8-4.

Organized baseball for Henderson's youth (primarily boys) was started by William Hebe, James "Hank" Harpole, and Joe Gabe via organizational meetings in the local YMCA in 1949-50. Affiliation with the national Little League was obtained and the city land reclaimed garbage dump on the high banks of the Ohio River was dedicated to the creation of three regulation fields, two for Little League (boys 6-12) and one for "Pony League" (boys 12-15)called Park Field. The area is adjacent to a city park and large enough for bleachers, ample parking, and, at one time, the headquarters building of the local amateur ham radio club, W4KVK. Harpole was a major leader, doing chores from raking stones from the playing fields to seeking sponsors for the team uniforms and becoming coach for years of a Little League team there. The baseball efforts grew to scores of teams and more fields elsewhere in Henderson, and was often credited with reducing adolescent mischief in the area. Harpole later founded a "T-ball" league for pre-schoolers (to 6 years)in Henderson that included girls.

Points of interest

 * John James Audubon State Park-Ornithologist, naturalist, and painter John James Audubon spent several years in Henderson in the 1810s. He is honored in the downtown with nine cast-bronze sculptures based on paintings from Audubon's "Birds of America" series, at the John James Audubon State Park and Museum, which houses the world's largest collection of John James Audubon memorabilia and one of the most extensive collections of his work in the world. The park offers an Audubon sculpture walking tour where you can find sculptures of his paintings and nature itself, along with wild life animals, around you.


 * River Front-Many find John James Audubon State Park the tourist attraction of them all while others enjoy the simpler design of the city's downtown and river front, particularly the Audubon Mill Park. Along with the parks the river front's play area showcases a popular water park fountain. The water park has two areas; one larger area contains forty-five jets varying in height from a few feet to a towering fifteen feet, and the second play area has smaller jets approximately two feet in height. This one offers endless amusement for children. Also for a quieter time there's trails and benches along the Ohio river for natural enjoyment. Others enjoy the scene of the CSX Bridge crossing the river to Indiana. There's a dock that goes into the river for fishing or just "plain ol'" setting.Sunset at the river front in Henderson, Ky.jpg)]]


 * Green River State Forest-About five miles northeast of Henderson is 1,106 acres of the Green River State Park. This park is open for the public for recreational uses such as hunting, fishing, or hiking. More than half of the park is situated at the bottoms of Henderson's bluff towards the Ohio river with 65-70 acres of swampland. This land also holds a lot of early history dating back as far as the 16th centurys as being camped by DeSoto's Chroniclers with a feud between them and Native Americans. The Grren RIver State Forest as well as Henderson's north side is a part of the Desoto's Trail.


 * The Sloughs-Nearly 10,000 acres of the city is a wetland area. The land has several sloughs or swamp. In the winter there's over 10,000 geese and ducks. For hunters, fishermen, hikers, campers, or nature lovers this is a paradise. You can site anything from a turtles to coyotes.


 * Central Park


 * Ruby Moon Winery and Vineyard

Media
Henderson is served by one local daily newspaper, The Gleaner, as well the metro edition of the Evansville Courier & Press. Both are owned by the E.W. Scripps Company.

Henderson is part of the Evansville media market, the 101st-largest television market and 161st-largest radio market in the United States. WSON (860-AM) is the only locally owned radio station broadcasting from the city. Stations from Owensboro and Madisonville are also available. Some can hear stations from Fort Campbell, Clarksville and Paducah as well.

WEHT, Evansville's ABC affiliate, has its studios and transmitting tower located in Henderson, though it is licensed to Evansville.

Notable natives

 * John James Audubon, ornithologist (spent several years in Henderson in the 1810s)
 * W.C. Handy, African-American Blues legend (spent about a decade in Henderson)
 * Mary Ann Fisher African-American Jazz singer of, the Ray Charles group, The Raelettes
 * Gail Pettis African-American Jazz singer
 * Rosa Henderson, American Jazz and Blues singer
 * Sam Ball, Former NFL player
 * Stephen Bardo, former NBA player
 * John J. Becker, composer
 * Mary Willie Arvin, decorated World War I nurse
 * John Young Brown, U.S. Representative, Governor of Kentucky
 * Albert Benjamin "Happy" Chandler, U.S. Senator, Governor of Kentucky, Commissioner of Major League Baseball
 * James Franklin Clay, former member, United States House of Representatives
 * Ingram Crockett, poet and journalist
 * Teddy Darby, blues musician
 * John Lloyd Dorsey, Jr., former member, United States House of Representatives
 * Joey Goebel, author
 * Gregg Hale, film producer, Blair Witch Project
 * General Adam "Stovepipe" Johnson, Confederate general during the American Civil War
 * Kristen Johnson, former Miss Kentucky USA
 * Grandpa Jones, Louis Marshall "Grandpa" Jones, banjo player, comedian, born in Henderson County
 * Kasper from the K, rapper
 * Husband E. Kimmel, commander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor
 * Darrell A. Posey, anthropologist, ethnobiologist
 * Lazarus W. Powell, former governor of Kentucky
 * Ann Rutledge, Abraham Lincoln's first love, was born just outside of Henderson
 * Augustus O. Stanley, Governor of Kentucky