The first mayoral election was held on April 24, 1847, and Henderson, a member of the Whig Party, took office on May 1.
[3] By 1835 he was one of the wealthiest people in the town, owning not only a 160-acre (65 ha) farm, but also lots within the Mile Square and elsewhere in the state.
The directors arranged large loans to themselves, leaving Henderson and the others in a precarious financial position during the Panic of 1837.
Henderson was elected as the mayor on April 24, 1847, for a two-year term.
However, he became convinced that Indianapolis would become merely a way station on the railroad lines, and after his term as mayor, he sold his real estate holdings at reduced prices and headed for California to join the Gold Rush.