Henderson, Texas
Henderson is the seat of Rusk County in the East Texas Piney Woods, about 24 miles south of Longview and 33 miles southeast of Tyler. The surrounding country is rolling and heavily wooded, and the area sits within the East Texas oil field, whose discovery in the early 1930s reshaped the region's economy. The town retains a courthouse square and older commercial district reflecting that oil-era growth.
Place essentials
Official Census snapshot- Census place type
- City
- July 2025 population
- 13,496
- Change from 2020 base
- +1.6%
- Land area
- 12 sq. mi.
- County footprint
- Rusk County
Place type, county footprint, and land area use the Census Bureau's January 1, 2025 geography. Population uses Vintage 2025 estimates through July 1, 2025; change compares that estimate with the April 1, 2020 estimates base. Geography file | Population file
Property here runs through the appraisal district and tax office for Rusk County. The homestead exemption, appraisal cap, protests, and any MUD, PID, or special districts all sit at the parcel level.
Official routes
Use the office for the parcel address; a mailing city is not always the governing city.
Local character
Start with Henderson itself
A few landmarks, stories, and everyday places that help give Henderson its shape.
Historic Downtown
Downtown Henderson Is More Than a Courthouse Square
Henderson's old commercial blocks form a National Register district wrapped around the courthouse streets.
Railroad History
A Sixteen-Mile Railroad Kept Henderson on the Map
Henderson missed the main railroad, so a short local line reached east to Overton and gave the town its own connection in 1877.
Building Permits
Inside Henderson City Limits, the Permit Comes Before the Hammer
Henderson requires a permit before you build, add on, remodel, repair, move, or tear down a structure, before you change how a building is used, and before any regulated electrical, gas, mechanical, or plumbing work.
Then zoom out to Rusk County
Oil Boom History
The East Texas Oilfield Changed This County Forever
The discovery of oil in Rusk County in 1930 opened the East Texas Oilfield and transformed the region from a quiet farming area into a boomtown almost overnight.
Property Tax Basics
One Office Values Your Property. Another Collects the Tax.
The Rusk County Appraisal District sets your property value; separate taxing units like school districts and cities bill and collect the tax.
Historic Tragedy
The 1937 New London School Explosion Shaped Natural Gas Safety Law
On March 18, 1937, a natural gas explosion destroyed a school in New London, killing nearly 300 students and teachers and prompting Texas to require odor added to natural gas.
Nearby
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