Named after John Taylor Heninger who arrived in Alberta from the U.S.A. in 1900, and built a home in the Magrath area to start his sheep-ranching operation. Due to lack of water in the southern regions during the 1920s, Heninger applied for and received permission from the government to build a dam diverting water from Etzikom Coulee for irrigation purposes. Heninger became a strong advocate of water conservation and supported construction of an irrigation system for southern Alberta. He built a number of small dams over the next two decades and tackled his largest project, creating Heningers Reservoir in 1945-46. He died in 1949. The name was made official 14 June 1968.

Approximately 100 km south south-west of Medicine Hat.