Henderson’s unique place in world trade at the close of the 19th century—largely due to the tremendous dark tobacco exporting business located here—provided the setting for the construction of a rather surprising number of espensive homes, given the size of the community.

In addition to grand homes, structures include city buildings, the library, banks and downtown businesses.

The properties on this walking tour were chosen because of some unusual or special feature of architectural charm or for historic value. They represent pre-Civil War architecture, the Italianate built around the 1860’s and 1870’s, and the fancier asymmetric Victorian built at the close of the century.