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The
History of Anderson |
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The history of Anderson dates back to 1886 when
Robert Anderson opened a general store and post
office which he named Anderson. The first
settlement in the area was at Beaver Springs.
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The town of Anderson
began growing after
the railroad was
extended from
Goodman through
Anderson to Noel. |
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Marshall E. Meador
platted the town of
Anderson. Anderson
was incorporated
into a city on
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December 7, 1909. E.
T. Doty served as
the first mayor and
J. W. Towner became
the city marshall. |
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The strawberry industry had its beginning in the
fall of the 1903 when berries were shipped from
the Anderson
Co-Operative Fruit
Growers Association.
This industry would
grow until Anderson
became known as the
“Strawberry Capital
of the World”. |
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In
the early 1950’s,
however, this local
industry waned due
to severe
competition from the
Western/Southern
states. |
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The
Chamberlain Canning
company canned
millions of fresh
vegetables from
around the area. |
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The Seven Valley
Cheese company also
processed milk from
the area farmers.
Due to excellent
rail c |
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onnections, Anderson
boasted a Hatchery
and Feed Mill. There
were twobanks in the
area-The State Bank
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of Anderson and the
Farmers Bank. It was
not until December,
1944, that the
Anderson State Bank
was chartered. |
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Anderson also
has one of the oldest churches around. The Anderson
Baptist Church was formed in 1848. It was not until
1906 that the Christian Church was formed. |
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The Lyric theater provided
much entertainment for the area. The Lyric Theater
is still in operation but it is now known as the
Flick Theater. |
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The first car brought into the
county was an EMT-30 made by Studebaker and
purchased by L. L. Barnes who later went into the
car business. George Tatum was a pioneer in the
field of merchandising. |
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He established the Tatum Mercantile and later, the
Tatum Motor Company. In 1905 C.O. Brady, a
veteran jeweler and optician, opened his first
business. |
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In September 1940, Anderson’s National Guard Unit
Battery E, 203rd Coast Artillery was called into
service for World War II. On March 15, 2003 the
203rd was once again called to duty in Iraq where
they served with honor. They returned to Anderson on
July 20, 2004. |
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Several of the early family names listed above still
have flourishing businesses in Anderson today. |
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