Henderson, Minnesota


Henderson is a city in Sibley County, Minnesota, United States. The population in was 886 at the 2010 census. Home of the musician Prince statue.

History

Henderson was founded in August 1852 by Joseph R. Brown, and was named for his mother's maiden name.
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 a residence for the Brown family.
In the following years, Henderson quickly became a major distribution center for the inland settlements surrounding the Minnesota River Valley.
By the mid-1860s, Henderson had two major brickyards, The Mattei and Schwartz Brickyard, who both contributed heavily to the early 1900s brick-style buildings still present in Henderson today.
The seat for Sibley County was originally established in Henderson, and an imposing courthouse was erected, being put into service in 1879. However, pressure from residents of Gaylord, from as far back as 1887, to gain the county seat precipitated a county-wide vote in 1915. That vote resulted in Gaylord gaining the seat; this caused around 200 residents to leave Henderson, a major decline in the city's population. Throughout the 50 years after this population loss, Henderson's economy became increasingly more centered on agriculture. Its success in transitioning to agriculture brought rise to the present Sauerkraut Days celebration. The former courthouse, now designated 'Henderson Community Building', houses Henderson City offices.

Newspaper

The official newspaper of Henderson Minnesota is the Henderson Independent. It is the oldest newspaper in Sibley County. It started April 16, 1873 under the title of The Sibley County Independent. In 1922, it became the Henderson Independent.

Museums & Library

Henderson has two museums and one public library.
Allanson's Park
In 1855, the town founder, J.R. Brown designated the land for future use as a public park. This land became Allanson's Park, which today has 15+ camping sites for tents, campers and RV's, a picnic shelter and playground.
Bender Park
Bender Park is a city park that has a large multi-purpose shelter where the Henderson's Sauerkraut Days is held. It also has a two baseball fields and a concession stand. It is the home field to the Le Sueur-Henderson High School Girls Fast pitch team.
Henderson Hummingbird Garden
was established as a part of the Henderson Hummingbird Hurrah and is located in Bender Park.
High Island Park
High Island Creek Park is 220 acres with over 6 miles of trails and camping opportunities.
Rush River Park
Rush River Park is 285 acres with over 12 miles of trails with a picnic shelter and camping areas. It is a popular horseback riding destination.
Ney Nature Center
The Ney Nature Center is 446 acres. It provides year-round outdoor activities and indoor programing.
Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge
The Minnesota Valley National Wildlife Refuge is over 70 miles long, stretching from Bloomington, MN to Henderson, MN. The size of The Refuge is currently over 14,000 acres. The Refuge is managed by the US Fish and Wildlife Service. Approximately 50% of Henderson borders the Refuge.

The Prince">Prince (musician)">Prince Garden

The Prince Garden is located on Main Street in the heart of the town, and is only 33 miles from Prince's famed Paisley Park residence and recording studio in Chanhassen, MN and 49 miles from the Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport. The Prince Garden is maintained by the , led by former Motion Pictures Cinematographer . The installation of the Prince statue was covered by nationally by .
The Prince Memorial Bench
The Prince Memorial Bench was installed in 2017. The cost of the Memorial Bench was covered by generous donations from Prince fans.
The Prince Mural
The mural was completed by New York artist Moises Suriel and completed in 2018 at a cost of $25,000. The cost of the Prince Mural was covered by the generous donations from Prince fans.
The Prince Statue
The Prince statue was installed June 27, 2020 and available to all visitors free of charge. The statue was constructed by Brodin Studios with bronze and is a life-sized statue of Prince. The look was inspired by Joel King's vision, who worked with Prince on Graffiti Bridge. Total cost of the statue was in excess of $40,000 and was covered by generous donations from fans and a grant from the Schmidt Foundation.
Purple Rain Route
Henderson is home to the Purple Rain Route which is where the "That Ain't Lake Minnetonka" scene was filmed for the movie Purple Rain, starring Prince. It is location is just 1 mile east of the Prince Garden along Henderson Station Road, which has being given the honorary name "Purple Rain Road.

Celebrations - Festivals - Events

Sauerkraut Days
Henderson hosts Sauerkraut Days, a three-day event that takes place during the last full weekend of June. Events include a Kraut Car Cruise, 5K Kraut Run, tractor ride, kiddie parade, grand parade, Minnesota State Arm Wrestling Championships, car show, Miss Henderson Coronation, Sauerkraut Idol, and the World Champion Sauerkraut Eating Contest.
In 2006, Sam Delzer of Henderson devoured 2 pounds of kraut in 1 minute 37 seconds in front of over 400 spectators during Henderson's Sauerkraut Days. Delzer repeated as champion in 2007 with a time of 1:47. Brian Schneedwind was the Kraut King in 2008. He finished his two pounds of kraut in one minute flat. Schneedwind was also the 2005 champion.
Henderson Classic Car Roll In
Held each Tuesday from May - September. This event features classic vehicles, local shops and eateries, food venders and a farmers market. On average over 250 classic cars line the streets of Historic Henderson along with 1000 - 2000 Classic Car Roll-In fans.
Kraut Kickoff
Prince Celebration
Hummingbird Hurrah
Flood Fest
The first inaugural Flood Fest was held April 5th, 2019. In a rare feat, the city was able to shut down State Highway 19 and have the Flood Fest right on the highway. There was live music, a photo booth, fire trucks, a race car and restaurant table service from the Henderson Roadhaus being offered on the highway. The headliner for the event was Triple Stich, a rock band that has played internationally and releases its music through streaming services.
Flood Fest 2020 was scheduled to be held April 4, 2020, but was postponed in late March due to fears of spreading illness during the novel coronavirus pandemic.
Heritage Days
Music on Main
Holiday Showcase
Garage Sale Weekend

Tourism, Recreation and Rankings

Henderson's Main Street -
The is held on Tuesday nights all summer long.
Kerfoot Canopy Tours is located just north of Henderson, which includes over one mile of zip lines and a high ropes course.
Henderson sits along the Scenic Byway in the Minnesota River Valley.
Toody's Sweet Treats -

Henderson in pop culture

The movie Purple Rain filmed the famous "Lake Minnetonka" scenes just east of Henderson along the Minnesota River. Henderson is home to the Memorial Prince Bench, Prince Mural and Purple Rain Route. The mural was completed by New York artist Moises Suriel.

Local Folklore

Local folklore characters include the Buck's Lake Beast and Crazy Anne.

Notable people

Active Bands
Inactive/Defunct Bands
The local school district is and operates three facilities. It is the consolidated district of ISD 734 and ISD 393 which consolidated in 1992.
: MNCS is a Minnesota Public Charter School, operating two sites and utilizes project-based learning. The MNCS Elementary, also known as the “1900 Building” site, teaches grades K-5. The MNCS High School is located on Main Street and teaches grades 6-12.
Also known as EOC, is a Minnesota Public Charter School was formed in Henderson. It is an online high school that utilizes project based learning with student enrollment from all over Minnesota.

Politics

Henderson is in Minnesota's 7th congressional district, represented by Colin Peterson. It is in Minnesota Senate district 18, represented by Scott Newman, and Minnesota House district 18B, represented by Glenn Gruenhagen.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of ; is land and is water.
Minnesota State Highways 19 and 93 are two of the main routes in the community. U.S. Highway 169 is nearby.

Demographics

As of 2000 the median income for a household in the city was $43,125, and the median income for a family was $49,091. Males had a median income of $31,736 versus $25,688 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,544. About 4.7% of families and 6.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.7% of those under age 18 and 9.7% of those age 65 or over.

2010 census

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 886 people, 377 households, and 236 families residing in the city. The population density was. There were 405 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the city was 97.5% White, 0.2% Asian, 1.4% from other races, and 0.9% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.5% of the population.
There were 377 households of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.4% were married couples living together, 7.4% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 37.4% were non-families. 30.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.95.
The median age in the city was 39.5 years. 23.4% of residents were under the age of 18; 6.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.1% were from 25 to 44; 27.1% were from 45 to 64; and 15.6% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 47.9% male and 52.1% female.