Welcome to the historic city of Henderson, Kentucky, located on the southern bank of the beautiful Ohio River. Daniel Boone was among the first groups of men to see this area of wooded hills and lush vegetation. The City was named for Colonel Richard Henderson who originally purchased 17,000,000 acres of land from the Cherokee Indians, only to have the purchase voided by the Virginia legislature. Then, in 1778, the Richard Henderson Company was granted 200,000 acres in recognition of the $50,000 paid by the company to the Indians in the Treaty of Watagua. Land in that grant is included in the present boundary of Henderson County.
Today, as the Jewel on the Ohio, the city encompasses more than 15 square miles and sits high and dry on a bluff, which is 70 feet above the river’s low water mark.
Henderson was founded in 1797, incorporated as a town in 1810, and became a city in 1867. The first settlement on the site, which is now Henderson, was called Red Banks by the Pennsylvania Dutch squatters who settled here.
Today, the City is proud to boast that its founders wisely laid out the streets 100 feet wide and also set aside acreage for a public square and the first municipal park west of the Allegheny Mountains.
John James Audubon discovered the beauty and plenty, fertile soil, gentle hills and peace and quiet of is the area in 1810, when he moved with his wife and young son to Henderson, Kentucky. The world-renowned artist and naturalist spent nine years in Henderson painting many exquisite life-sized pictures of birds and animals in their natural habitat.
Today in Henderson, Audubon is remembered by a 692-acre State Park and Museum, which bears his name. The Audubon Museum houses many of Audubon’s original watercolors, oils, engravings and personal memorabilia. The Nature Center features a wildlife observatory, which nurtures Audubon’s own love for nature and the great outdoors. The Park offers facilities for camping, hiking, fishing, swimming, golf and tennis.
Henderson thrived in the late 19th century thanks to river commerce, tobacco and agriculture. Today’s thriving economy has produced a low unemployment rate with many job opportunities in manufacturing, wholesale/retail trade, construction, services and mining and quarrying. At one time, Henderson was the second richest city per capita in the world, and as a result, there remains today many charming and elaborate homes build in the early 1800’s.
Find homes for sale in Henderson Kentucky
