The community was named after John D. "Colonel Jack" Henderson. Henderson, formerly known as Henderson Island, is an unincorporated community and a U.S. Post Office in Adams County, Colorado, United States. Henderson has the ZIP Code 80640. A post office called Henderson has been in operation since 1894.

Along with a post office, a few buildings remain of old Henderson along Brighton Road north of 120th Avenue. The Henderson Congregation Church (now Henderson Community Church) which has been in existence for over 100 years, stands as one of the last remaining vestiges of historical Henderson.

The gold rush of 1859 in Colorado stimulated the growth of the cattle industry in what is now Adams County. Henderson's Island became a favorite stopping place for the mountain-bound gold diggers.

One of Colorado's first major ranching operations was established near present-day Henderson in 1859 by Col. John D. Henderson to supply meat to the mining camps. It has often been credited as the first ranch in Colorado, although there are many other contenders for that title.