In its first session the state legislature of Alabama named one of its counties for the American Revolution patriot Patrick Henry. Originally it included territory now embraced by Covington, Dale, Coffee, Geneva, and Houston Counties and parts of the present Pike, Crenshaw, and Barbour Counties. Abbeville, the county seat, takes its name from Abbie Creek. The county seat of Abbeville, with a 1998 population of 3,077, is the county's second largest city.
Headland is the largest city.
Other incorporated places are Haleburg and Newville. Henry County is not part of a metropolitan area. Its 1998 population of 15,836 ranked 55th in the state. The University of Alabama Press, 1989. Graves, John Temple, ed.