Anderson is a city and county seat of Grimes County, Texas, United States. The population was 193 as of the 2020 census. The town and its surroundings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Anderson Historic District.
The town is named for Kenneth Lewis Anderson, a vice-president of the Republic of Texas, who died here at the Fanthorp Inn in 1845.
History
Long occupied by indigenous peoples, this area was initially settled by Europeans and creole Spanish during 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, 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. 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.
Geography
Texas State Highway 90 passes through the city, leading north to Roans Prairie and southwest to Navasota, the largest city in Grimes County. College Station is to the northwest, and Houston is to the southeast.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Anderson has a total area of , all land.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Anderson had a population of 193, with 77 households and 58 families residing in the city. The median age was 35.9 years. 28.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 112.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 91.7 males age 18 and over.
0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 77 households in Anderson, of which 44.2% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 44.2% were married-couple households, 15.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.9% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 18.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.<br /> (NH = Non-Hispanic)
!Race
!Number
!Percentage
|-
|White (NH)
|117
|60.62%
|-
|Black or African American (NH)
|52
|26.94%
|-
|Some Other Race (NH)
|1
|0.52%
|-
|Mixed/Multi-Racial (NH)
|3
|1.55%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino
|20
|10.36%
|-
|Total
|193
|
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+ Racial composition as of the 2020 census
! Race !! Percent
|-
| White || 65.3%
|-
| Black or African American || 27.5%
|-
| American Indian and Alaska Native || 0%
|-
| Asian || 0%
|-
| Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander || 0%
|-
| Some other race || 2.6%
|-
| Two or more races || 4.7%
|-
| Hispanic or Latino (of any race) || 10.4%
|}
2000 census
As of the 2000 census
Some buildings within the district are listed as Texas State Antiquities Landmarks or Recorded Texas Historic Landmarks. Sites include:
- Allen Home, built around 1840 and first served as a girls' academy.
- 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.
- Rueben Bennett House.
- H. H. Boggess House.
- 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.
- The Harris-Martin House. Harris followed his parents, John R. Harris and Jane Harris, to Texas, who preceded him to found the colony of Harrisburg, Texas (now in modern Houston).
- Grimes County Courthouse.
- Steinhagen Log Cabin.
- Vernacular Palladian House.
Education
Public education in the city of Anderson is provided by the Anderson-Shiro Consolidated Independent School District.