Anna, Illinois
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Anna is the largest city and retail trade center in
Union County, Illinois Union County is a county located in the U.S. state of Illinois. According to the 2020 United States census, it had a population of 17,244. Its county seat is Jonesboro. It is located in the southern portion of Illinois known locally as " Litt ...
, United States. Located in
Southern Illinois Southern Illinois is a region of the U.S. state of Illinois comprising the southern third of the state, principally south of Interstate 70. Part of downstate Illinois, it is bordered by the two List of U.S. rivers by discharge, most voluminous ri ...
, its population was 4,303 at the 2020 United States census, a decline from 5,135 in 2000. It is known for being tied to its close neighbor Jonesboro, together known as Anna-Jonesboro, and of which the main public high school for the two towns is named. Anna is known for the
Choate Mental Health and Development Center Anna State Hospital, contemporarily known as Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center, is a public psychiatric hospital in Anna, Illinois, established in 1869. The original hospital was constructed under the Kirkbride Plan The Kirkbride ...
, a state facility that opened in 1869.


History

Anna was platted on March 3, 1854, after the new
Illinois Central Railroad The Illinois Central Railroad , sometimes called the Main Line of Mid-America, is a railroad in the Central United States. Its primary routes connected Chicago, Illinois, with New Orleans, New Orleans, Louisiana, and Mobile, Alabama, and thus, ...
established a station there. It was founded by Winstead Davie and named after Anna Davie, his wife. It was then incorporated on February 16, 1865. The coming of the railroad can be credited for prompting the founding of the City of Anna, although, from the time of the George Rogers Clark expedition into Southern Illinois country, emigrants recognized its agricultural possibilities. Centrally located in Anna Precinct of Union County, Anna was established by ordinance following the election of Trustees in 1855, although the plot was recorded in the county records on March 3, 1854. The area's elevation and fertile soil have made fruit farming—particularly the growth of grapes for winemaking—one of the area's principal businesses. For the purpose of farming, fruit growing, gardening, and dairying, the lands in and around Anna are not surpassed in Southern Illinois. The precinct in which Anna lies is situated on the divide between the waters of the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers and is well drained by the Cache, Cypress, and Big Creeks. Many cool springs of water aid materially in cattle farming in this area. In 1859, brothers Cornwall and Wallace Kirkpatrick started Anna Pottery in Anna. Their work became well-known and later, collectors' items; one of their most descriptive pieces was a pig from which wine could be consumed. The business ran until 1900, according to an exhibit at the Union County Historical Society Museum in Cobden. During the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, Camp Anna in 1862 was the mustering and training location for some Illinois Infantry regiments, including the 81st,National Park Service: 81st Regiment, Illinois Infantry
Accessed 9 June 2022.
109th,
Accessed 9 June 2022.
and 110th.
Accessed 9 June 2022.
There have been various commemorations ever since, including: 2013 and 2022. Sentiments in Union County for the north and south were clearly divided during the war. Contemporary newspapers were blatantly political. The Anna Democrat continued publication, while the Jonesboro Gazette was denied its constitutional right to freedom of the press from 15 May 1863 until it was allowed to resume publication on 5 March 1864. The newspapers were consolidated to form ''The Gazette-Democrat'' on 26 October 1939. Anna is home to the Union County Fair, which began in 1880. In 1909, town residents attempted to drive out the black families who lived in Anna, after the lynching of
William "Froggie" James William is a masculine given name of Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle Ages and into the modern era. It is ...
in the nearby town of
Cairo, Illinois Cairo ( , sometimes ) is the southernmost city in the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat of Alexander County, Illinois, Alexander County. A river city, Cairo has the lowest elevation of any location in Illinois and is the only Illinoi ...
, for the alleged rape and murder of Anna resident Anna Pelley. Anna was historically a
sundown town Sundown towns, also known as sunset towns, gray towns, or sundowner towns, were all-white municipalities or neighborhoods in the United States. They were towns that practiced a form of racial segregation by excluding non-whites via some combinati ...
, in which African Americans were excluded from living in the town's limits. Though the town was named after Anna Davie, the wife of the town's founder, some outsiders believed that the town's name was an acronym for "Ain't No
Nigger In the English language, ''nigger'' is a racial slur directed at black people. Starting in the 1990s, references to ''nigger'' have been increasingly replaced by the euphemistic contraction , notably in cases where ''nigger'' is Use–menti ...
s Allowed". The town has become infamous for it by its portrayal in literature and film. The phrase is still well-known, with few non-white residents owing in part to its historical reputation. Signs using a pejorative for Black people warning them not to let the sun go down on you in Anna persisted on Highway 127 until the 1970s. The
Stinson Memorial Library The Stinson Memorial Library is a public library located at 409 S. Main St. in Anna, Illinois. The library was designed by Walter Burley Griffin in 1913 and constructed in 1913–14. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on ...
is a public library located at 409 South Main Street in Anna, Illinois. The library was designed by
Walter Burley Griffin Walter Burley Griffin (November 24, 1876February 11, 1937) was an American architect and landscape architect. He designed Canberra, Australia's capital city, the New South Wales towns of Griffith, New South Wales, Griffith and Leeton, New So ...
, an understudy to
Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. (June 8, 1867 – April 9, 1959) was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed List of Frank Lloyd Wright works, more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key ...
, in 1913 and constructed in 1913–14. It was added to the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
on June 9, 1978. Lewis Bakeries, the makers of Bunny Bread, was founded in 1925. Lewis started the company with a $300 loan against his mother's house, and by 1987, the company was reportedly earning $80 million in annual sales. Founder Jack Lewis died in September 2001 at the age of 91. Bunny Bread itself was created in 1947, according to the Bunny Bread website.


Geography

Anna is located at . According to the 2010 census, Anna has a total area of , of which (or 99.46%) is land and (or 0.54%) is water.


Demographics

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 4,442 people, 1,893 households and 1,097 families residing in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was 1,269.1 people per square mile. There were 2,123 housing units at an average density of 606.6 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 95.7%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 1.1%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.6% American Indian and Alaskan Native, 0.4% Asian, <0.1%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 1.2% from other races, and .9% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino people (of any race) were 2.9% of the population. There were 1,893 households, out of which 24.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.6% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present and 42.0% were non-families. 37.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 21.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.85. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.7% aged 19 and younger, 7.0% from 20 to 24, 22.7% from 25 to 44, 24.5% from 45 to 64, and 23.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42.8 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.7 males. The median income for a household in the city was $39,602, the median income for a family was $44,420. The incomes of 20.2% of the population were below the poverty level.


Education

Public schools in Anna include Anna Jr. High School, Lincoln School, all part of Anna District#37, and the
Anna-Jonesboro Community High School Anna-Jonesboro Community High School (AJCHS) is an American high school located in Anna, Illinois. Its principal is Mr. Brett Detering. It serves Anna and Jonesboro. It is a part of Anna-Jonesboro Community High School District 81. In 2019 all ...
District #81.


Notable people

* James E. Bonner,
U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...
major general and commanding general of
Fort Leonard Wood Fort Leonard Wood is a United States Army, U.S. Army training installation located in the Missouri The Ozarks, Ozarks. The main gate is located on the southern boundary of the city of St. Robert, Missouri, St. Robert. The post was created in De ...
* Delos Brown, pinch hitter for the
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
, born in Anna * Kenneth Buzbee, politician * Clyde L. Choate, politician and soldier * Townsend F. Dodd, aviator * George M.C. Fisher, former CEO of
Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It was founded by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin in 1928 and had been named Motorola since 1947. Many of Motorola's products had been ...
and
Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...
* Frank E. Midkiff, High Commissioner of the Trust Territory of the Pacific, born in Anna * King Neptune, famous war bond-raising pig *
Frank Willard Frank Henry Willard (September 21, 1893 – January 11, 1958) was an American cartoonist best known for his syndicated newspaper comic strip ''Moon Mullins'' which ran from 1923 to 1991, working alongside assistant Ferd Johnson. He sometimes went ...
, cartoonist


See also

*
List of sundown towns in the United States A sundown town is a municipality or neighborhood within the United States that practices or once practiced a form of racial segregation characterized by intimidation, hostility, or violence among White people directed toward non-Whites, especial ...


References


External links

*
Anna-Jonesboro Wildcats Football

History of Anna State Hospital
{{authority control 1854 establishments in Illinois Cities in Illinois Populated places established in 1854 Cities in Union County, Illinois Sundown towns in Illinois