THIS STORY IS PRESENTED IN PART BY DRAKE DENTISTRY
In a rebroadcast from the June 24, 2020, edition of WIZS’ Town Talk, George Templeton “Tem” Blackburn II, local historian, discussed the important role Richard Henderson played in the expansion of the American West. Henderson was a member of one of the first families to settle in the local area.
While officially chartered by the North Carolina General Assembly in 1841, the city, named in honor of former North Carolina Supreme Court Chief Justice Leonard Henderson, son of Richard Henderson, was home to the Henderson family approximately one hundred years prior.
Unlike many areas of the country that experienced settlement from east to west, Blackburn explained the local area had a principal settlement pattern of north to south.
The Henderson family, including a young Richard, was the first among several planter families that relocated from the area near Richmond, VA in the 1740s, according to Blackburn. Other families, including the Bullocks and Williams, soon followed suit.
Richard Henderson, whose father Samuel was the first sheriff of Granville County, became a lawyer with an interest in opening the lands west of the Appalachian Mountains.
Blackburn said Richard Henderson, with ties to pioneer Daniel Boone, ultimately gained the approval of the Cherokee Nation for a settlement through the Cumberland Gap into what is now Kentucky and Northern Tennessee.
While no major battles were fought in NC during the American Revolutionary or Civil War, and no prominent generals originated from the state, Blackburn said the local connection to the westward expansion of the country is of great historical significance.
“Before the Revolution, there was the opening of the American West,” Blackburn stated. “Richard Henderson played a key role in that. That gives our area a claim to say we are connected with the most significant event in NC history, which is tied to the larger history of the nation.”
To hear the interview in its entirety, go to WIZS.com and click on Town Talk.