View source for Anderson, Texas

{{Distinguish|Anderson County, Texas}}
{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
| official_name      = Anderson
| settlement_type    = [[City]]
| nickname           = 
| motto              = <!-- Images -->
| image_skyline      = Downtown Anderson Texas Wiki.jpg
| imagesize          = 280px
| image_caption      = Anderson, Texas
| image_flag         = 
| image_seal         = 
| image_map          = {{maplink
  | id = Q491462
  | frame              = yes
  | plain              = yes
  | frame-align        = center
  | frame-width        = 280
  | frame-height       = 280
  | frame-coord        = SWITCH:{{coord|qid=Q491462}}###{{coord|qid=Q26616}}###{{coord|qid=Q1439}}###{{coord|39.5|-98.35}}
  | zoom               = SWITCH:14;8;4;3
  | type               = SWITCH:shape-inverse;shape-inverse;point;point
  | stroke-width       = SWITCH:2,1.5,0,0
  | stroke-color       = #5f5f5f
  | fill               = #808080
  | fill-opacity    = SWITCH:.5,.3,.3,.3
  | id2                = SWITCH:Q491462;Q26616;Q1439;Q30
  | type2              = shape-inverse
  | stroke-width2      = 2
  | stroke-color2      = #5F5F5F
  | stroke-opacity2    = SWITCH:1;1;1;1
  | fill2              = #808080
  | fill-opacity2      = SWITCH:0;.5;0.5;0.5
  | switch             = Anderson;Grimes County;Texas;the United States
}}
| map_caption        = <!-- Maps -->
| map_caption1       = 
| pushpin_map        = Texas#USA#North America
<!-- Location -->| subdivision_type   = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
| subdivision_name   = United States
| subdivision_type1  = [[U.S. state|State]]
| subdivision_name1  = [[Texas]]
| subdivision_type2  = [[List of counties in Texas|County]]
| subdivision_name2  = [[Grimes County, Texas|Grimes]]

<!-- Government -->| government_footnotes = <ref>{{cite web |title=Mayor and Town Council {{!}} The Historic Town of Anderson, Texas |url=https://andersontx.gov/town-council/ |website=The Historic Town of Anderson}}</ref>
| government_type    = 
| leader_title       = Mayor
| leader_name        = vacant
| leader_title1      = Mayor Pro-Tem
| leader_name1       = Tanner Krause
| established_title  = 
| established_date   = 2003

<!-- Area -->| unit_pref          = Imperial
| area_footnotes     = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2019">{{cite web|title=2019 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2019_Gazetteer/2019_gaz_place_48.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|access-date=August 7, 2020}}</ref>
| area_magnitude     = 
| area_total_km2     = 1.33
| area_land_km2      = 1.33
| area_water_km2     = 0.00
| area_total_sq_mi   = 0.51
| area_land_sq_mi    = 0.51
| area_water_sq_mi   = 0.00

<!-- Population -->| population_as_of   = [[2020 United States Census|2020]]
| population_footnotes = 
| population_total   = 193
| population_density_km2 = 182.55
| population_density_sq_mi = 472.66

<!-- General information -->| timezone           = [[North American Central Time Zone|Central (CST)]]
| utc_offset         = -6
| timezone_DST       = CDT
| utc_offset_DST     = -5
| elevation_footnotes = <ref name=gnis/>
| elevation_ft       = 335
| coordinates        = {{coord|30|29|14|N|95|59|24|W|region:US_type:city|display=inline,title}}
| postal_code_type   = [[ZIP code]]s
| postal_code        = 77830, 77875
| area_code          = [[Area code 936|936]]
| blank_name         = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
| blank_info         = 48-03192<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov |publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]] |access-date=2008-01-31 |title=U.S. Census website }}</ref>
| leader_name2       = Kason Menges
| leader_title2      = Secretary
| blank1_name        = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
| blank1_info        = 2409707<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2409707}}</ref>
| website            = http://andersontx.gov/
| footnotes          = 
}}
'''Anderson''' is a city and county seat of [[Grimes County, Texas|Grimes County]], [[Texas]], United States. The population was 193 as of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]].<ref name="Census 2010">{{Cite web| 
url=http://factfinder2.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US4803192| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Anderson city, Texas| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau| work=American Factfinder| access-date=March 23, 2017}}{{dead link|bot=medic|date=April 2020}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref name="GR6">{{cite web|url=http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |access-date=2011-06-07 |title=Find a County |publisher=National Association of Counties |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531210815/http://www.naco.org/Counties/Pages/FindACounty.aspx |archive-date=2011-05-31 }}</ref> The town and its surroundings are listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places]] as the Anderson Historic District.<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|version=2010a}}</ref>

The town is named for [[Kenneth Lewis Anderson]], a vice-president of the [[Republic of Texas]], who died here at the [[Fanthorp Inn State Historic Site|Fanthorp Inn]] in 1845.

==History==
Long occupied by indigenous peoples, this area was initially settled by Europeans and creole Spanish during [[Spanish Texas|Spanish colonial rule]]. Anglo-Americans began to enter the area in the 1820s from the [[Southern United States]]. After Mexico achieved independence, it accepted additional settlers from the United States into eastern Texas. It allowed them to practice their own religion, if they swore loyalty to Mexico. A few structures in town date from this period.

Texas achieved independence in 1836 and settlers continued to arrive from the United States. As they came mostly from the South and brought slaves with them, Grimes and other eastern counties had the highest proportion of slaveholders and slaves in the republic.

Grimes County was organized in 1846, soon after the Republic of Texas was annexed by the United States. Henry Fanthorp, a new Anglo-American settler in Texas, offered land for the county seat. The town grew quickly between 1846 and 1885, reaching a peak population of about 3,000 people. County population was majority-black and enslaved by 1860. The black majority continued until many African Americans left during the 20th century in the [[Great Migration (African American)|Great Migration]], to leave behind Jim Crow conditions.

Anderson in 1859 rejected being connected to the Texas and Central Railroad, and was soon surpassed in population and economic growth by [[Navasota, Texas|Navasota]]. Anderson could not catch up again, although it accepted a railroad in 1903. The town was incorporated, but records show elected officials only for the years 1867 and 1875.

In 1983 a movement to revive city government was defeated at the polls.<ref name="TSHA" /> In 1995, the town began having major sewer problems and the state threatened to shut down the county courthouse if the problems were not fixed. One solution was to incorporate the town again so that it would be eligible for grants to acquire a sewer system. In 1995, John Freeman was elected as the first mayor, and the town was incorporated in 1998. He retired in 2003 and Gail Sowell was elected as mayor.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Historic Town of Anderson, Texas {{!}} Seat of Grimes County |url=http://andersontx.gov/ |access-date=2023-05-22 |website=The Historic Town of Anderson |language=en-US}}</ref>

==Geography==

[[Texas State Highway 90]] passes through the city, leading north {{convert|7|mi|0}} to [[Roans Prairie, Texas|Roans Prairie]] and southwest {{convert|9|mi|0}} to [[Navasota, Texas|Navasota]], the largest city in Grimes County. [[College Station, Texas|College Station]] is {{convert|28|mi}} to the northwest, and [[Houston]] is {{Convert|71|mi}} to the southeast.

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], Anderson has a total area of {{convert|1.3|km2|order=flip}}, all  land.<ref name="Census 2010"/>

===Climate===

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters.  According to the [[Köppen Climate Classification]] system, Anderson has a [[humid subtropical climate]], abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.<ref>[http://www.weatherbase.com/weather/weather-summary.php3?s=442014&cityname=Anderson%2C+Texas%2C+United+States+of+America&units= Climate Summary for Anderson, Texas]</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|align=left
|1990= 370
|2000= 257
|2010= 222
|footnote=U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/decennial-census.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|access-date=June 4, 2015 }}</ref>
1990 data from TSHA Online<ref name="TSHA">{{Cite web|url=https://tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/hla16|title = TSHA {{pipe}} Anderson, TX}}</ref>
|2020=193}}

{| class="wikitable"
|+'''Anderson racial composition as of 2020'''<ref>{{Cite web |title=Explore Census Data |url=https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=1600000US4803192&tid=DECENNIALPL2020.P2 |access-date=2022-05-31 |website=data.census.gov}}</ref><br /> (NH = Non-Hispanic){{efn|Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.census.gov|title=United States Census Bureau}} {{nonspecific|date=August 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=About the Hispanic Population and its Origin |url=https://www.census.gov/topics/population/hispanic-origin/about.html |website=www.census.gov |access-date=18 May 2022}}</ref>}}
!Race
!Number
!Percentage
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino whites|White]] (NH)
|117
|60.62%
|-
|[[Non-Hispanic or Latino African Americans|Black or African American]] (NH)
|52
|26.94%
|-
|Some Other Race (NH)
|1
|0.52%
|-
|[[Multiracial Americans|Mixed/Multi-Racial]] (NH)
|3
|1.55%
|-
|[[Hispanic and Latino Americans|Hispanic or Latino]]
|20
|10.36%
|-
|'''Total'''
|'''193'''
|
|}
As of the [[2020 United States census]], there were 193 people, 85 households, and 58 families residing in the city.

As of the [[census]]<ref name="GR2" /> of 2000, there were 257 people, 92 households, and 59 families residing in the city. The population density was {{convert|498.6|PD/sqmi|PD/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. There were 119 housing units at an average density of {{convert|230.8|/sqmi|/km2|sp=us|adj=off}}. The racial makeup of the city was 54.86% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 40.47% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.78% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 2.72% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 1.17% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 4.67% of the population.

There were 92 households, out of which 21.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.7% were [[Marriage|married couples]] living together, 14.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 2.95.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 17.9% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 30.7% from 25 to 44, 29.6% from 45 to 64, and 14.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 112.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 129.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $33,409, and the median income for a family was $34,375. Males had a median income of $24,135 versus $22,188 for females. The [[per capita income]] for the city was $14,718. About 8.3% of families and 11.0% of the population were below the [[poverty line]], including 9.1% of those under the age of eighteen and 21.1% of those 65 or over.

==Arts and culture==
===Anderson Historic District===
[[File:The Harris-Martin House 1837.jpg|thumb|Harris-Martin House]]
[[File:Anderson Baptist Church.jpg|thumb|Anderson Baptist Church]]

The entire town and surrounding areas has been recognized as the Anderson Historic District, listed on the [[National Register of Historic Places listings in Grimes County, Texas|National Register of Historic Places]] in 1974. The area was originally settled during [[Spanish Texas|Spanish colonial rule]]. The town is unusual in that a large number of structures have survived that reflect the history of Texas from the [[Mexican Texas|Mexican period]] through the years of the [[Republic of Texas]] and into early statehood. Anderson has never fully recovered from economic decline suffered during the late nineteenth century. As a result, the town's appearance has been largely unchanged since the beginning of the twentieth century.<ref name=NRHP>{{Cite web|title=National Register of Historic Places Inventory - Nomination Form: Anderson Historic District|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/NR/pdfs/74002072/74002072.pdf|last1=Hume|first1=Gary L.|last2=Muckelroy|first2=Duncan G.|date=March 15, 1974|publisher=[[National Park Service]]|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref>

Some buildings within the district are listed as [[Texas State Antiquities Landmark]]s or [[Recorded Texas Historic Landmark]]s.<ref name=THC-Atlas>{{Cite web|title=Texas Historic Sites Atlas|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/|author=Staff|publisher=[[Texas Historical Commission]]|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref> Sites  include:
*Allen Home, built around 1840 and first served as a girls' academy.<ref name=AllenRTHL>{{Cite web|title=Details for Allen Home (Atlas Number 5507014266)|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5507014266|author=Staff|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref><ref name=ThompsonRTHL>{{Cite web|title=Details for Miss Sally Thompson School Building (Atlas Number 5185008622)|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5185008622|author=Staff|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref>
*Anderson Baptist Church, built between 1853 and 1855 from native stone by enslaved African-American laborers and artisans. The [[Baptist General Convention of Texas]] was organized here in 1848.<ref name=NRHP/><ref name=BaptistRTHL>{{Cite web|title=Details for Anderson Baptist Church (Atlas Number 5185008562)|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5185008562|author=Staff|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref>
*Rueben Bennett House.<ref name=BennettRTHL>{{Cite web|title=Details for Bennett, Rueben, House (Atlas Number 5507014195)|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5507014195|author=Staff|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref>
*H. H. Boggess House.<ref name=NRHP/>
*[[Fanthorp Inn State Historic Site]]. Held the region's first post office. In 1845, Vice President [[Kenneth Lewis Anderson]] of the Republic of Texas, after whom the town is named, died while staying at the inn. The [[Texas Parks and Wildlife Department]] acquired the property in 1977 and, opened the site to the public in 1987 as a demonstration of life at a stagecoach stop and family home in 1850.<ref name=NRHP/><ref name=TPWD>{{Cite web|title=Fanthorp Inn State Historic Site: History|url=https://tpwd.texas.gov/state-parks/fanthorp-inn/park_history|author=Staff|publisher=[[Texas Parks and Wildlife Department]]|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref><ref name=FanthorpSAL>{{Cite web|title=Details for Fanthorp Inn State Historical Structure (41GM79) (Atlas Number 8200000297)|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/8200000297|author=Staff|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref>
*B. B. Goodrich House. Benjamin Briggs Goodrich served as a member of the [[Convention of 1836]] and signed the [[Texas Declaration of Independence]] and the [[Constitution of the Republic of Texas]].<ref name=NRHP/><ref name=GoodrichRTHL>{{Cite web|title=Details for B. B. Goodrich House (Atlas Number 5185008582)|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5185008582|author=Staff|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref>
*The Harris-Martin House. Harris followed his parents, [[John Richardson Harris|John R. Harris]] and Jane Harris, to Texas, who preceded him to found the colony of  Harrisburg, Texas (now in modern Houston).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.loc.gov/resource/hhh.tx0746.sheet?st=gallery|title = Harris-Martin House, Anderson, Grimes County, TX|website = [[Library of Congress]]}}</ref>
*Grimes County Courthouse.<ref name=NRHP/><ref name=GrimesSAL>{{Cite web|title=Details for Grimes County Courthouse (Atlas Number 8200000298)|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/8200000298|author=Staff|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref><ref name=CourthouseRTHL>{{Cite web|title=Details for Grimes County Courthouse (Atlas Number 5185008585)|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5185008585|author=Staff|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref>
*Steinhagen Log Cabin.<ref name=SteinhagenRTHL>{{Cite web|title=Details for Steinhagen Log Cabin (Atlas Number 5185008617)|url=https://atlas.thc.state.tx.us/Details/5185008617|author=Staff|publisher=Texas Historical Commission|access-date=March 19, 2018}}</ref>
*Vernacular Palladian House.<ref name=NRHP/>

==Government==
Karen McDuffie has served as mayor since 2019.{{citation needed|date=February 2023}}

==Education==
Public education in the city of Anderson is provided by the [[Anderson-Shiro Consolidated Independent School District]].

==See also==
{{Portal|Texas|National Register of Historic Places}}

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{Commons category-inline}}
{{reflist}}

{{Grimes County, Texas}}
{{Texas county seats}}
{{NRHP in Texas}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Cities in Texas]]
[[Category:Cities in Grimes County, Texas]]
[[Category:County seats in Texas]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Grimes County, Texas]]
[[Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Texas]]