Welcome to the Henry County History Page

Henry County's Story

Henry County, created in 1821 from Creek Indian lands, was named for Virginia patriot Patrick Henry, and the county seat of McDonough, was named for Commodore Thomas McDonough who was victorious over the British on Lake Champlain during the War of 1812. The state legislature later divided land originally set aside as Henry County into Butts, Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, Newton and Spalding counties and large portions of present day Rockdale and Fayette counties. Modern-day Henry County consists of 326.482034 square miles and is home to an estimated 218,700 residents.