Charles Lewis Henry

Charles Lewis Henry (July 1, 1849 – May 2, 1927) was an American lawyer, businessman, and Republican politician who served two terms as a U.S. Representative from Indiana from 1895 to 1899. Over the course of his public career, he contributed to the legislative process in the Indiana State Senate and in the United States Congress, and later became a prominent figure in the development of electric interurban railways in the Midwest.

Henry was born in Green Township, Hancock County, Indiana, on July 1, 1849. During his childhood he moved with his parents to Pendleton, Indiana, where he was raised. He attended the common schools in the area, receiving a basic education that prepared him for further study. Seeking higher education, he enrolled at Asbury University in Greencastle, Indiana, an institution that would later be renamed DePauw University.

Pursuing a career in law, Henry entered the law department of Indiana University at Bloomington. He completed his legal studies there and graduated in 1872. That same year he was admitted to the bar of Indiana and commenced the practice of law in Pendleton. In 1875 he relocated his law practice to Anderson, Indiana, which became his long-term professional and political base.

Henry’s political career began at the state level. A member of the Republican Party, he was elected to the Indiana State Senate, where he served in the sessions of 1880, 1881, and 1883. In the state legislature he participated in the formulation of laws and policies affecting Indiana during a period of economic growth and industrial development, gaining experience that would later inform his work in the national legislature.

In national politics, Henry was elected as a Republican to the Fifty-fourth and Fifty-fifth Congresses, serving as a U.S. Representative from Indiana from March 4, 1895, to March 3, 1899. During these two terms in the House of Representatives, he represented the interests of his constituents and took part in the democratic and legislative processes at a time of significant change in American society, including debates over economic policy and the nation’s expanding role in world affairs. He declined to be a candidate for renomination in 1898, thereby concluding his congressional service after four years.

After leaving Congress, Henry devoted much of his career to the development and operation of electric interurban railways, an emerging form of transportation that connected cities and towns across regional networks. He is widely credited with coining the term “interurban,” derived from Latin and meaning “between cities,” to describe these electric railway lines. His work in this field helped shape the growth of transportation infrastructure in Indiana and neighboring states during the early twentieth century.

At the time of his death, Henry was serving as president and receiver of the Indianapolis & Cincinnati Traction Company, a position he had held and in which he had managed the company’s affairs for twenty-three years. He died in Indianapolis, Indiana, on May 2, 1927. Charles Lewis Henry was interred in Maplewood Cemetery in Anderson, Indiana, closing a life that combined legal practice, state and national legislative service, and significant contributions to the development of interurban transportation.