Editing Henderson, Minnesota (section)

==History==
Henderson was founded in August 1852 by [[Joseph R. Brown]], and was named for his mother's maiden name.<ref>{{cite book|last=Upham|first=Warren|title=Minnesota Geographic Names: Their Origin and Historic Significance|url=https://archive.org/details/minnesotageogra00uphagoog|year=1920|publisher=Minnesota Historical Society|page=[https://archive.org/details/minnesotageogra00uphagoog/page/n536 519]}}</ref>

By 1855, Henderson had become a fast-growing city. It harbored more than 60 buildings, including a hotel, a warehouse, a steam sawmill, as well as Brown's house, which functioned as a boarding house, a store and the Brown family residence.

In the following years, Henderson quickly became a major distribution center for the inland settlements surrounding the [[Minnesota River Valley]].  It was the trailhead of the Henderson-[[Pembina, North Dakota|Pembina]] road.

By the mid-1860s, Henderson had two major brickyards, The Mattei and Schwartz Brickyards, which both contributed heavily to the early 1900s brick-style buildings still found in Henderson.{{When|date=December 2016}}

The seat for [[Sibley County, Minnesota|Sibley County]] was originally established in Henderson, and an imposing courthouse was erected, being put into service in 1879. But pressure from residents of [[Gaylord, Minnesota|Gaylord]], from as far back as 1887, to gain the county seat precipitated a 1915 countywide vote that resulted in Gaylord gaining the seat; this caused around 200 residents to leave Henderson, a major decline in the town's population. During the 50 years after that population loss, Henderson's economy increasingly centered on agriculture. Its success in transitioning to agriculture brought rise to the present ''Sauerkraut Days'' celebration.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.henderson-mn.com/heritage-preservation-commission.html|title=Heritage Preservation Commission|work=henderson-mn.com|access-date=December 7, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://kraut.hendersonmn.com/Henderson_Sauerkraut_Days/Home.html|title=Henderson Sauerkraut Days June 24, 25, 26 2016 |work=hendersonmn.com |access-date=December 7, 2016}}</ref> The former courthouse, now the Henderson Community Building, houses Henderson City offices.<ref name=":0">[http://www.henderson-mn.com/visitors.html] ''Visitors Page'' Henderson website (accessed December 6, 2018)</ref>