The Anna State Asylum, built in 1869 in the Kirkbride Plan was a rambling four-story structure, part of which was destroyed in separate incidents, but most of which is still standing as the central complex to the C.L. Choate Mental Health and Developmental Center.
Anna is the largest town and retail trade center in Union County, Illinois, United States. Located in Southern Illinois, 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, a state facility that opened in 1869.[4]
History
Anna was platted on March 3, 1854, after the new Illinois Central Railroad established a station there.[5] It was founded by Winstead Davie and named after Anna Davie, his wife.[6] It was then incorporated on February 16, 1865.[7]
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.[5]
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.[5] 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.[5]
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.[8]
During the American Civil War, Camp Anna in 1862 was the mustering and training location for some Illinois Infantry regiments, including the 81st,[9][10] 109th,[11][12] and 110th.[13][14] There have been various commemorations ever since, including: 2013[15] and 2022.[16]
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.[17] The newspapers were consolidated to form The Gazette-Democrat on 26 October 1939.[17]
Anna is home to the site of the Union County Fair, which started in 1880 and continues today.[18]
In 1909, town residents attempted to drive out the black families who lived in Anna, after the lynching of William “Froggie” James in the nearby town of Cairo, Illinois for the alleged rape and murder of Anna resident Anna Pelley.[19][20] Anna was historically a sundown town, 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 Niggers Allowed". The town has become infamous for it by its portrayal in literature and film.[21] The phrase is still well-known, with few non-white residents owing in part to its historical reputation.[22] 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.[23]
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.[24][25]
According to the 2010 census, Anna has a total area of 3.519 square miles (9.11 km2), of which 3.5 sq mi (9.06 km2) (or 99.46%) is land and 0.019 sq mi (0.05 km2) (or 0.54%) is water.[26]
As of the census[28] of 2010, there were 4,442 people, 1,893 households and 1,097 families residing in the city. The population density 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, 1.1% African American, 0.6% American Indian and Alaskan Native, 0.4% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 1.2% from other races, and .9% from two or more races. Hispanic 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 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.[29]
^One Story of the 109th Illinois Volunteer Infantry Regiment. By George E. Parks. Journal of the Illinois State Historical Society. Vol. 56, No. 2, Civil War Centennial (Summer, 1963), pp. 282-297 (16 pages). Published By: University of Illinois Press. Accessed 9 Jun 2022.
^Brown, Nikki; Stentiford, Barry M. (2008). The Jim Crow Encyclopedia (1st ed.). Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 345. ISBN9780313341816. Retrieved April 9, 2016.
^Sundown Towns A hidden dimension of American racism, James W. (2018). Loewen (2018 ed.). New York, London: The New Press. pp. 1–2. ISBN9781620974346. signs that usually said "Nigger Don't Let the Sun Go Down on You in ____."Anna-Jonesboro had such signs on Highway 127 as recently as the 1970s.
Anna, I, Anna Anna Anna Sui Anna Yesipova Anna van Egmont Anna (Anna Waronker album) Anna Nagar Boten Anna Anna of Russia Anna Politkovskaya Anna Dostoevskaya Anna Komnene Indian anna Lake Anna Anna, Illinois Anna Johansson Anna Nakagawa Anna Pichrtová Anna, Texas Anna and the King Anna (Frozen) Anna von Schweidnitz Anna Oscàr Anna Jagiellon Artipe anna Anna Göldi Anna Throndsen Anna Akhmatova Anna Faris Anna Lindh Anna Paquin Anna of Cilli Anna Maria, Florida Anna Leopoldovna Anna Bilińska Anna Anachoutlou Maria Anna Anna Sophia Anna Hall Anna Smith Anna Memorial Anna Sorokin Anna Span An…
na Creek Station Anna Jay Apantesis anna Anna Fernstädt Anna Thalbach Anna of Pomerania Anna Haining Bates Anna Dalassene Anna Thomson Anna Falkner Anna Savage Anna Illés Anna Williams Anna Bochkoltz List of colleges and institutions affiliated to Anna University Anna Sahlene Anna Maria Amcats Anna Rosenberg Anna Leibbrand Anna Åkerhielm Anna de Noailles Anna Bijns Anna Świrszczyńska Anna Proletářka Anna Akana Anna Roosevelt Halsted Anna Földényi Anna DiMera Anna Le Moine Anna Gordon Anna Lubomirska Anna Wilson Anna Maria Island Anna Shaw Anna t'Haron Anna and Bernhard Blume Anna Vasa of Sweden Anna Miller Anna Clark Anna Kotočová Anna Fermin Anna Kyoyama Anna University Chennai - Regional Office, Tirunelveli Anna Peterson Anna Barykova Anna N. Żytkow Anna Pavlovna of Russia Anna Fedorova Anna Palaiologina Anna Community Consolidated School District 37 Anna Wood Anna Kavan Anna Anka Anna Laetitia Barbauld Anna University Anna Lundström Anna Karenina: Vronsky's Story Anna Karenina Anna Kuliscioff Anna Fantastic Anna-Jonesboro Community High School Anna of Brandenburg Anna (rapper) Anna Leonowens Anna Nicholas Anna Nicole Smith Anna Harrison Anna Kournikova Anna Johnson