Fox Henderson, Sr. was a businessman and banking entrepreneur from Troy, Alabama.
Early life
Fox Henderson was born in Henderson, Alabama in 1853, the oldest son of Jeremiah Augustus "Gus" Henderson and Mildred Elizabeth Henderson. The Henderson family moved to Troy, Alabama in 1869, where Jeremiah Henderson started a successful farm mercantile business, joined by his sons Fox and Jere Clemens.
Business endeavors
In 1881, at the young age of 28, Henderson and his brother Jere purchased the Pike County Bank, and changed the name to the Farmers and Merchants Bank. For the next 18 years, as the only bank in the area, the bank's assets grew immensely. In 1903, the bank received a national charter and the name was changed again to Farmers and Merchants National Bank. Henderson was president of the bank from its inception until his death. In 1880, Henderson became a partner in Minchenor, Henderson & Company, a business that made handles, spokes, and picker sticks. He also co-founded the Troy Fertilizer Company in 1883 with a couple of partners – Alexander St. Claire Tennille and Oliver C. Wiley. This venture became so successful that Fox bought out his partners in 1902 and merged the fertilizer company with his other venture, the Standard Chemical Company. The newly created Standard Chemical and Oil Company, Inc. was the largest plant of its kind in southern Alabama. In 1887, the new Alabama Midland Railroad came to Troy – Henderson and his partners formed the Alabama Terminal Improvement Company, a business to build and equip the new railroad. In 1890, Henderson and his brother Charles opened the Henderson Knitting Mills, a textile manufacturing enterprise, which was shut down soon after it opened. Henderson was also a cotton merchant and organizer of the unsuccessful Troy Shoe Manufactory.
By 1900, Fox Henderson was one of the largest land owners in and around Troy. He established the Arcadia Dairy on his of land, which imported Jersey cows to supply the city of Troy with fresh milk. In 1911, Henderson formed a holding company with his sons as partners.
Offices
In 1911, Fox Henderson, Sr. held the following offices:
As a young man, Henderson married Sallie Wilkerson. The couple had three sons – Fox Henderson Jr., Fred and Jake, and one daughter, Gussie Henderson Jones. He donated land for the Pike County Fair and the Pike Masonic Hospital, the first hospital in Troy, now named Beard Memorial Hospital. He also built the courthouse in Troy with his business partner Joe Minchener. Though he never apparently expressed any interest in running for political office, he was the chief contributor to his brother Charles Henderson’s successful campaign for governor of Alabama in 1914. Henderson died in 1918 at the age of 65. He is buried in Oakwood Cemetery in Troy next to his wife, Sallie.
