Anderson is located in eastern Lauderdale County in the extreme northwestern corner of Alabama. It has a mayor/city council form of government.
The first homesteads were established in the Anderson area in the very early nineteenth century. Historical records indicates that at least some of them were done so illegally on Cherokee land, and the settlers were soon evicted by federal troops. The community itself was founded around 1825. The town expanded in 1835 with the construction of a grist mill powered by a local stream then known as Corn Creek, later renamed Anderson Creek. One source says that the creek and town were named after the mill owner, James Anderson, but another states that the person who built the mill was named Booker Foster. In 1860, a post office was established and given the name Anderson Creek, which became the name of the town for more than three decades. In 1896, the town dropped "Creek" from its name and became known simply as Anderson. The town officially incorporated in June 1973.
Anderson's population according to the 2010 Census was 282. Of that number, 97.9 percent of respondents identified themselves as white, 1.8 percent as two or more races, 0.7 percent as Hispanic or Latino, and 0.4 percent as Native American. The town's median household income, according to 2010 estimates, was $37,500, and the per capita income was $20,941.
According to 2010 Census estimates, the work force in Anderson was divided among the following industrial categories:
· Educational services, and health care and social assistance (25.0 percent)
· Retail trade (20.7 percent)
· Other services, except public administration (16.3 percent)
· Construction (12.0 percent)
· Information (7.6 percent)
· Manufacturing (6.5 percent)
· Professional, scientific, management, and administrative and waste management services (4.3 percent)
· Arts, entertainment, recreation, and accommodation and food services (4.3 percent)
· Transportation and warehousing and utilities (2.2 percent)
· Public administration (1.1 percent)
Schools in Anderson are part of the Lauderdale County school system; the town has approximately 245 students and 16 teachers in one elementary school.
State Highway 207 runs the length of the town, going north-south.
Events and Places of Interest
The Dr. L. E. Bayles House (ca. 1915) is listed on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage.
Garrett, Jill Knight. A History of Lauderdale County, Alabama. n.p.: n.p., 1964.
McDonald, William Lindsey. A Walk Through the Past: People and Places of Florence and Lauderdale County, Alabama. Killen, Ala.: Heart of Dixie Publishers, 2003.
James P. Kaetz
Published February 4, 2014
Last updated February 4, 2014