In 1836, Gideon Lee of New York City was first to enter the land here. Lee sold the land to Josiah Isham. Isham sold the land in 1858 to Andrew Henderson. In 1868, Andrew's son and community's name sake, John, built the first store in 1868 followed by the first hotel in 1875. The community became known as Hendersonville.
On May 14, 1868, the Hazel Green post office was opened here under postmaster William Cook. The Michigan Central Railroad station was called Henderson. The post office was renamed on October 16, 1876 to Henderson. For Andrew Henderson, Ezra Mason platted the village in 1879.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
