Council in Russell County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Helen Timmons Henderson

(1877–1925)

Photographed by J. J. Prats, June 10, 2017

1. Helen Timmons Henderson Marker

Inscription. Helen Timmons Henderson, born in Missouri and raised in Tennessee, was one of the first two women elected to Virginia’s General Assembly. She and her husband moved to Council in 1911 when the Baptist State Mission Board of Virginia recruited them to oversee the new Buchanan Mission School. Local Democratic Party officials encouraged Henderson to run for the House of Delegates, and she was elected in Nov. 1923 to represent Buchanan and Russell Counties. An advocate for education and road improvements, she was renominated in 1925 but died before the fall election. Her daughter, Helen Ruth Henderson won the seat in 1927.

Erected 2010 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number XB-26.)

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Education • Government & Politics • Religion & Religious Structures • Roads & Vehicles • Women. In addition, it is included in the Virginia Department of Historic Resources (DHR) series list. A significant historical month for this entry is October 1923.

Location. 37° 4.469′ N, 82° 3.595′ W. Marker is in Council, Virginia, in Russell County. It is on Virginia Route 80 just west of County Route 620, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Honaker VA 24260, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Southwest Virginia.

It is also in the American South,

specifically in the Upper South,

in Appalachia,

and specifically in Southern Appalachia. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region,

North America,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the territory of the Mississippian Culture,

one of the original Thirteen Colonies,

one of the Confederate States of America,

and the Antebellum South.

Other nearby markers.

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At least 8 other markers are within 14 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Buchanan County / Russell County (approx. 1.9 miles away); The Home and Grave of David Musick (approx. 3.9 miles away); Elk Garden Fort (approx. 10.8 miles away); Buchanan County / Tazewell County (approx. 11½ miles away); Russell Courthouse (approx. 12 miles away); Glade Hollow Fort (approx. 12.8 miles away); Buchanan County / Dickenson County (approx. 13.6 miles away); Frances Dickenson Scott Johnson (approx. 14 miles away).

Also see . . . Wikipedia entry for Helen Timmons Henderson. “Of her role in Richmond, Henderson said: ‘I’m not in the Legislature for publicity. It’s simply a question of public service with me, and a duty I owe to the people back in those counties which have elected me.’ While in the General Assembly Henderson gained a reputation as an advocate for the interests of southwest Virginia, calling for more funding for roads and schools. She was the first woman to preside over the Assembly, and sat on four Committees: Roads and Internal Navigation; Counties, Cities, and Towns; Moral and Social Welfare; and Executive Expenditures. Her health, however, had begun to fail in the spring of 1925, and she returned to her parents’ home in Jefferson City; she died there in July, without the chance to

Photographed by J. J. Prats, June 10, 2017

2. Helen Timmons Henderson Marker

run for reelection, although she had been unanimously renominated.[1] At her death governor E. Lee Trinkle praised her ‘many virtues, clear vision and noble aspirations,’ and ordered flags at the capitol building to be flown at half-staff in her honor.” (Submitted on July 2, 2017.)

Credits. This page was last revised on July 9, 2021. It was originally submitted on July 2, 2017, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio. This page has been viewed 601 times since then and 28 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 2, 2017, by J. J. Prats of Powell, Ohio.