Demographics

The original owners of the territory surrounding Anna were the Indians, primarily the Miamis and Shawnees, who roamed the area at different times before the white settlers came. The French, under the leadership of LaSalle and Marquette, explored the interior of the Mississippi Valley from 1669 to 1682. The French claimed the territory under these explorations, though the British laid claim by their earlier explorations on the coast. This dispute of territory started the French and Indian War which lasted from 1754 to 1763. By the terms of the treaty, the English gained possession of the French territory, Canada, and all the territory east of the Mississippi. The colonists declared themselves independent, and by the treaty of Paris in 1783, gained the territory from the Mississippi, south of the Great Lakes, to Florida, becoming an independent nation. As territory was fought for and won from the Indians, settlements sprang up in Cleveland, Chillicothe, Zanesville, Dayton, and many other places. Settlers came from the eastern states in such large numbers that in 1803, Ohio was admitted as a state.

The early pioneers of Anna were John W. Carey, Josiah Greene, and John Munch, who came from Dayton in 1833. J.W. Carey owned 1,000 acres of land located west of the present B&O Railroad. Josiah Greene purchased 160 acres between the present B&O Railroad and County Road 25-A. John Munch owned land east of Pike Street.

The village was first laid out by J.W. Carey in 1858. It was afterward surveyed by John L. and Fletcher Thirkield and lies in Section 28, Town 7 South, Range 6 East, as surveyed in 1867. An important change took place about this time. The village was renamed from Carey’s Station to Anna, in honor of Mr. Carey’s daughter.

Grain and lumber became a major industry for Anna, and in 1861, the first saw mill in Anna was built. This mill initiated a boom in development, including housing, the construction of the Black Bull Inn, and Billing’s Insurance Agency.

With all of the development in the 1860’s, there had already been dreams of incorporation of the village. This dream was finally realized when Anna was incorporated by petition on June 26, 1877.