Henry County Courthouse / Henry County

Henry County, named for Revolutionary War patriot Patrick Henry, was created on November 7, 1821, from lands that were part of the Jackson Purchase from the Chickasaws in 1818, and Andrew Jackson was a member of the commission that negotiated this treaty. The Henry County Courthouse on this site was designed by Reuben Harrison Hunt of Chattanooga and built by Ed M. Wallen of New Decatur, Alabama, in 1896 as the third courthouse here, and it remains one of West Tennessee's oldest working courthouses. The murder case Grainger v. State (1830) originated on this site and set precedent for self-defense as a basis for appeal. Confederate military units, including the Paris Blues, 5th Tennessee Infantry, and 46th Tennessee Infantry regiments, were organized on the lawn, and Henry County sent more than 2500 volunteers to the Confederate Armies, claiming the title "Volunteer County of the Volunteer State."

Paris, Tennessee · United States