'HENDERSON HOUSE' COULD BE MANY HOMES

Dr. R.T. Henderson residence: On the corner of Mary and N. High streets, Dr. Robert T. Henderson's fine Queen Anne home has stood regally for over a century.

Dr. G.S. Henderson home: This Victorian beauty at the corner of Mary and Missouri streets was home to one-time national chess champion Dr. George S. Henderson. Jackson USA Photo/Mark Evans

Charles W. Henderson home: This 1895 queen Anne home at 214 W. Mary was the first home of Jackson businessman Charles W. Henderson. He later built a home on Russell Ave.

Asking an old-timer or other residents with knowledge of local history which house belonged to "Dr. Henderson" can be a loaded question.

Jackson native Carolyn Peterson of Milford, Conn. pointed out recently that the July 2 Jackson USA Signal had one historic house identified as the home of the wrong Dr. Henderson.

The house pictured in that issue, at 401 N. Missouri was actually the home of Dr. George S. Henderson (1859-1943), rather than his half-brother, Dr. Robert T. Henderson (1840-1927).

Robert Henderson was a leading local physician for many years, after serving as a surgeon in the militia during the Civil War. He took up practice in Jackson in 1888.

George Henderson was a long-time local dentist, who was the national chess champion in 1923.

Robert Henderson, Mrs. Peterson said, lived on the corner of Mary and N. High. The daughter of J.B. and Margaret Henderson, she was born in 1928 in the home her parents built on Russell Street in 1926. They lived across the street from her grandparents, Charles Weston and Carrie Henderson. Charles Henderson was president of Cape County Bank and owner of Henderson Lumber Company. He was a brother to George Henderson and half-brother to Robert Henderson. Another brother, Moses S. Henderson, developed a large apple orchard west of Jackson, where the junior high now stands.

According to a 1978 article by Mrs. J.R. Henderson, at one time the entire two-block area of Mary street, from High to Russell Ave., were occupied by homes of the Henderson family.

The fine Victorian homes were all built during the 1890s and early 1900s and still retain their Gilded Age charm. They continue to add to Jackson's charm and historic significance.