Henderson County is a county in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 census, its population was 82,150. The county seat is Athens. The county is named in honor of James Pinckney Henderson, the first attorney general of the Republic of Texas, and secretary of state for the republic. He later served as the first governor of Texas. Henderson County was established in 1846, the year after Texas gained statehood. Its first town was Buffalo, laid out in 1847.