Nearly 1.5 million people live within an hour's drive. H enry County is located in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, in the southern Piedmont region of Virginia. Our borders are shared with Patrick County to the west, Franklin County to the north, Pittsylvania County to the east and the North Carolina line to the south. H enry County was named for Patrick Henry, who lived here from 1780 to 1784. We originally were part of Pittsylvania County, but we went on our own in 1777.
T here are two incorporated municipalities within our boundaries.
The independent city of Martinsville lies in the geographic center of Henry County and the town of Ridgeway is located in the southern part of the County. Unincorporated communities within Henry County include Fieldale, Collinsville, Bassett, Stanleytown, Spencer, Laurel Park, Axton and Chatmoss. I n the early days our residents made their money from tobacco. We then became one of the world's foremost producers of furniture and textile items. Our homegrown companies included Bassett Furniture, Stanley Furniture, Hooker Furniture and American of Martinsville, and each of those companies is still an industry leader.