William Henderson

Henderson gave the city his name, but the city grew from other things. The county around it grew tobacco and hemp and raised horses and cattle, and the town became a trading center for that farm country. Daniel Smith had settled the area in 1784. The real change came in 1954, when Old Hickory Dam was finished and its lake drew sportsmen, vacationers and new residents. Hendersonville then outgrew every other town in Sumner County. Henderson's own claim on the map is a post office.

What the plaque says

William Henderson Captain William Henderson was Revolutionary soldier born in Virginia. He and his wife, Lockey Trigg, moved to Sumner County in the late 1790s and later bought property between Sanders Ferry and Walton Ferry Roads upon which they built a log home. The town of Hendersonville was named for him and he became the first postmaster in 1801. He was succeeded in office by two of his sons, Bennett, who served until 1811, and Littleton, who served until 1815. William Henderson was buried on this site around 1807.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Andrew Jackson's Hermitage — 6.2 mi
  Andrew Jackson's cotton plantation east of Nashville, where visitors can walk to the quarters, Alfred's Cabin and the Enslaved Cemetery as well as the mansion.
• Tennessee State Capitol — 13 mi
  William Strickland's Greek Revival capitol on Nashville's Capitol Hill, finished in 1859 and built from the bottom up with the labor of enslaved men.
• Ryman Auditorium — 13 mi
  The 1892 brick tabernacle in downtown Nashville that was the Grand Ole Opry's home from 1943 to 1974, now a National Historic Landmark and working concert hall.
• National Museum of African American Music — 13 mi
  A downtown Nashville museum, opened in 2021, tracing gospel, blues, jazz, rhythm and blues and hip-hop through Black history from 1619 to 2016.

More markers nearby

• Hendersonville, Louisville & Nashville Railroad Depot — 0.3 mi
• Rock Castle — 0.7 mi
• Free Hill Road — 1.7 mi
• The Cash Home — 3.6 mi