HENDERSON

city, Clark county, southeastern Nevada, U.S., midway between Las Vegas and Boulder City. It was established in 1942 in the desert below Clark Mountain to provide housing for the employees of a government-constructed magnesium plant and was named for U.S. Sen. Charles Belknap Henderson (1873-1954). Inactivated at the close of World War II when the plant was closed, the project was later bought by the state and the magnesium-producing facilities were taken over by private companies. Henderson is now Nevada's chief industrial centre, producing titanium and heavy chemicals for commercial and defense needs. Hoover Dam and Lake Mead National Recreational Area are to the east. Inc. 1953. Pop. (1990) 64,942. city, seat of Henderson county, northwestern Kentucky, U.S., on the Ohio River, 7 mi (11 km) south of Evansville, Ind. The townsite, around Red Banks (settled 1784) was laid out in 1797 by the Transylvania Land Company and named for its promoter, Richard Henderson. Originally a farming settlement, its economy has become evenly balanced among industry, agriculture (corn, soybeans, livestock, tobacco), oil, and coal. John James Audubon, the artist-ornithologist, operated a general store there from 1810 to 1819 and is commemorated by the Audubon Memorial Museum and State Park, 1 mi north. Henderson Community College, a branch of the University of Kentucky, was opened in 1960. Nearby James C. Ellis Park and Audubon Raceway offer summer thoroughbred and harness racing. Inc. town, 1810; city, 1867. Pop. (1990) 25,945. city, seat (1881) of Vance county, northern North Carolina, U.S. The area was settled by Germans, Scots, and ScotsIrish in 1713, and the town was laid out in 1840 and named for Chief Justice Leonard Henderson of the state's Supreme Court. Tobacco is the major crop in the area, but the economic base has widened, with dairying, livestock raising, and feed growing increasingly important. Industries include the manufacture of textiles, processed foods, and glass containers. Kerr Reservoir, part of the development of the Roanoke River Basin, is 6 mi (10 km) north. Inc. 1841; reincorporated 1913. Pop. (1990) 15,655.