Bernhart Henn

Bernhart Henn (1817 – August 30, 1865) was a pioneer lawyer, businessman, and two-term Democratic U.S. Representative from Iowa’s 1st congressional district during Iowa’s first decade of statehood. He was born in 1817 in Cherry Valley, Otsego County, New York, where he attended the common schools. Little is recorded about his family background or early employment, but his education in the local schools prepared him for professional study and eventual migration westward during the period of rapid American expansion.

In 1838 Henn moved to what is now Burlington, Iowa, then the capital of Iowa Territory. Arriving in a frontier community that was becoming an important administrative and commercial center, he pursued legal studies and was admitted to the bar in Burlington. His legal practice developed in the context of a growing territorial society, where lawyers often combined professional work with land and business ventures. In 1845, during the administration of President James K. Polk, Henn was appointed register of the United States General Land Office at Fairfield, Iowa. This federal appointment prompted his move to Fairfield and placed him at the center of land administration at a time when settlement and land sales were transforming the region.

Henn’s work in the General Land Office and his growing prominence in Democratic Party circles led to his entry into electoral politics. In 1850 he was elected as a Democrat to represent Iowa’s 1st congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. Although he was officially a Democrat, a hostile editor of Burlington’s early newspaper, James G. Edwards of the “Hawk-Eye,” labeled him a “Locofoco,” a slang term then used for a radical faction within the Democratic Party that was associated with more populist and anti-monopoly views. Henn took his seat in the Thirty-second Congress on March 4, 1851, as Iowa, admitted to the Union only in 1846, was still in the formative years of its statehood.

In 1852 Henn ran for re-election and won, securing a second term and serving in the Thirty-third Congress. His service in the House continued from March 4, 1851, to March 3, 1855, encompassing both terms. During these years he participated in the legislative affairs of a rapidly expanding nation, representing a district whose interests were closely tied to land policy, settlement, and internal improvements. While specific committee assignments and legislative initiatives are not extensively documented, his background in land administration and law would have informed his approach to issues affecting Iowa’s development and the broader western frontier.

At the close of his second House term, Henn sought to extend his federal service by moving to the upper chamber of Congress. In December 1854 he was a candidate before the Iowa General Assembly for election to the United States Senate. In that legislative contest he was defeated by James Harlan, who secured the Senate seat. Meanwhile, Augustus Hall, another Democrat, was elected to succeed Henn in the House, taking over representation of Iowa’s 1st congressional district after Henn’s service ended on March 3, 1855.

After leaving Congress, Henn returned to Fairfield and turned his attention to private enterprise. He engaged in banking and real estate, activities that were common avenues for former public officials on the frontier and that reflected the economic opportunities of a growing state. His business interests contributed to the development of Fairfield and the surrounding area. The residence associated with his prominence in the community, known as Henn Mansion in Fairfield, would later be listed on the National Register of Historic Places, underscoring his local significance and the enduring physical legacy of his career.

Bernhart Henn died in Fairfield, Iowa, on August 30, 1865. He was interred in Evergreen Cemetery in Fairfield. His career spanned the transition of Iowa from territory to state, and his roles as lawyer, federal land officer, congressman, and businessman placed him among the notable figures who helped shape the early political and economic life of the state.