01/05/2026
This is the history behind where Spiritual Blessings Boutique is located how fascinating. Thank you Kayla Patterson for sharing.
The History behind The Depot of Henderson,TN❤️
Henderson, the seat of Chester County, is located in the central southwest area of the state, about 85 miles northeast of Memphis, 135 miles southwest of Nashville and 15 miles southeast of Jackson. The history of Henderson began in 1857 when the Mobile and Ohio Railroad was being constructed. At that time, the only cleared land in the area consisted of farms. In 1860, a few families from Henderson County moved into the area.
A depot was built by the railroad company, and the town’s businesses sprang up near the depot and railroad tracks. Mr. W.P. “Polk” Bray built the first business house in the fall of 1860 on what was called Front Row, now known as Front Street. At that time, the town was known as Dayton, a name it kept until after the Civil War. Building was slow until after the war. Only two or three businesses were here when the Civil War started, all of them located on Front Row. The war brought the building of the town to an abrupt halt. During the war the small town was occupied by Union troops protecting the depot.
Immediately after the war, building activities resumed, and the name of the community was changed from Dayton to Henderson’s Station, but finally shortened to Henderson.
This probably occurred because most of the people settling here were from the neighboring Henderson County. In 1870, there were about a half-dozen stores here, and in 1871, houses began to spring up in different places. In 1873, Dr. J.D. Smith Sr., who owned most of the land in the area, began to lay out streets and sell lots. A map made by a Philadelphia firm in 1877 showed the location of all the business houses and home owners in the rapidly growing town.
The majority of Henderson’s businesses were located just off of Front Street and along Main Street, where the downtown area is today. On South Washington and Union Streets, there were also clothing stores, a millinery shop, creamery, barber shop, feed store, livery stable and blacksmith shop. A grocery store, drug store, dry goods store and a hardware store quickly sprang up. By 1877, several business firms were being run by J.D. Smith Jr., Case O’Neal, R.J. Barham, T.H. Bagwell, Dr. T.A. Smith, H.D. Franklin, A.S. Saylor and John West.
On West Main Street, across the railroad (which did not have a bridge over it) was a hotel and rooming house owned by a Mrs. Conyers that later became the Woodard Hotel. The First Baptist Church was on a lot where the City Cemetery is now. After the formation of Chester County in 1879, the location of the county seat was left to popular vote. Two towns, Henderson and Montezuma, were placed in nomination. In 1882, an overwhelming majority of the electorate chose Henderson. On March 11, 1901, Henderson was incorporated by an act of the Tennessee legislature. The population at that time was about 1,000. A city council was elected. J.B. Hardeman was elected the first mayor. H.C. Ashcraft was chosen city recorder, and M.J. Ozier was named city attorney. Soon after the incorporation, a sewage system was installed and sidewalks and water works were built, but it was still several years before the streets were paved. Telephone service arrived with the Cumberland Telephone Company in 1898, and electricity arrived around 1915. Henderson has had three county courthouses. The present one is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was built circa 1914.