History of Anthon

Early news from the Correctionville newspaper, "Sioux Valley News", December 22, 1887 ed. Before Anthon became a town.

Anthon Jubilee book (1888-1963) reprints are available on Amazon.com

New REPRINT of "Anthon Yesterday and Today 1888-1963 Diamond Jubilee-June 5-6" 1963 edition. Size 7" x 10". 80 pages, black and white, perfect-bound paperback. Local history of Anthon, Woodbury County, Iowa up to 1963, which includes detailed information and photos of the school history, businesses and organizations, and many interesting historical facts

Parts of the following Anthon history is excerpted from “Anthon Yesterday and Today, 1888-1963” compiled by L.B. Forsling, Myrtle Hart, Agnes Lester, Lilva Brader, and Lowell Pattison. Additional history for Anthon prior to 1988 may be found in the Anthon Centennial Book.
One old settler, when asked to give a word-picture of Anthon as it appeared following its platting on February 17, 1888, said “If you can imagine a few loosely constructed wooden buildings looming out from a corn field of corn stalks, partly covered by snow, on a bleak prairie, you have a good idea of what Anthon looked like 75 years ago.”
An idea of how fast the town grew in the next two years can be gained from a description of it included in an 1890 history of Woodbury County.
Anthon, one of the most thriving towns on this branch of the Illinois Central railroad, is located on portions of sections thirty-two and thirty-three, not far from the Little Sioux River. It is the only post office in Kedron township, and, being located so far to the south, the upper residents get their mail at Correctionville. The village was incorporated during 1890. It is claimed that it is the heaviest shipping point on this branch of the Illinois Central railroad, Washta coming next, especially for cattle, large quantities of corn and wheat being also transported to Chicago and other points.
Anthon was platted by the Cherokee and Western Town, Lot and Land Company. Most of the land Anthon is now located on belonged to Absalom Miller (See more on Absalom Miller on following page). He gave the land to the town, and there was an understanding that the town was to be called Annetta, after one of his daughters, but when it was found there was another town in Iowa by that name, it was named Anthon, after J.C. Anthon, one of the Illinois Central railroad officials, who was in charge of the railroad construction between Cherokee and Onawa.
The Illinois Central railroad proved the impetus for the growth of a town here. It was completed through here in the fall of 1887. It was during the blizzards of 1888 that Anthon was laid out. Numerous talks are told of the hardships of erecting a depot and other buildings here during the terrible storms of that winter. One tells of a rope being stretched from the half-completed depot to the Miller farm house, so that the workers would not get lost in the blinding snowstorms. The first depot was an abandoned box car, and C.A. Dobell was the first depot agent.
The first lot bought in the newly platted town was purchased by H.K. Blair. At this site, he and his partner, Jasper Newton, operated the first store (grocery) in Anthon, completing it in December 1887. The second store in Anthon was a general store run by Joe Carver, who was the first postmaster and justice of the peace.
As the railroad through here began making regular scheduled runs, the town rapidly took on an air of business. More buildings were soon erected, homes were built, and Anthon was well on its way towards becoming the liveliest town in that part of Woodbury County outside of Sioux City.
The first grain buyer was John Cameron; the first livestock buyer, John Jerman; first hardware dealer, a man named Charles Williams; the first elevator was run by B.F. Wilson and F.M. Cooney. D. H. McKown was the first doctor to locate here.
Yet, in those days, the territory surrounding Anthon had not felt the first pricks of civilizations. There was an abundance of wild game and fish, honey was plentiful in the bee trees along the river and the prairie was covered with strawberries, choke cherries, plums, hazelnuts and walnuts.
The Collins house was the first hotel in Anthon. It was a shabby two-room structure with an attic, but it was considered a real comfort and a luxury to many a weary traveler. Farm homes were few and far between, yet hospitality, which has been carried down to the present, was noted everywhere.
In 1899 a schoolhouse was moved over from Lucky Valley (many of Anthon’s early buildings were moved from there) and Mr. Harlan was hired as the first school teacher. Since that time, hundreds of students have received their early education in Anthon schools and going on to become successful contractors, editors, musicians, teachers, merchants, attorneys, farmers, housewives, salesmen, mechanics, big league baseball players and business men. The first graduating class in 1900, numbered two. The two were Ida Lungren, who later became Mrs. Otis Smith of Sac City, and Freeman White, who died many years ago.
Anthon’s first mayor was M.L. Gordon. He owned and operated a furniture store on the corner where Kenneth Bunnell had an oil station.
As the town began to take its present place as a meeting spot for all the rural residents for miles around, social life in the form of barn dances, church dinners and athletic contests of every type came into being. Like every new frontier town, the rougher element also was found in Anthon in the earlier days. Saloons were prosperous, and it was not unusual to hitch up a trustworthy team to take a man, who had imbibed too freely, home. Fights and brawls were common, but the saner and more conservative citizens of the town soon did away almost entirely with these forms of lawlessness.
Until H. L. Heidelberg built his general store in 1899, all of the buildings in Anthon were wooden structures. (The Heidelberg building is the present day Collins Agency building.) Fires, therefore, were a great menace. They were fought at first by the bucket brigades, and later the town dug several reservours, from which they would pump water through a hose in case of fire. Anthon now has a modern water system supplying 99% of the homes in the corporate limits.
Early in the history of Anthon, secret orders and lodges were organized. The Masonic lodge was instituted in 1896. The first worshipful master was Ed Colvin and the first secretary was Harold L. Heidelberg. There were 17 charter members of this lodge. The Odd Fellows lodge was started in Anthon in 1893 with 10 or 12 charter members. O. P. Walker was the first noble grand and H. B. Rodgers was the first secretary. The Order of Easter Star was begun in Anthon in 1908. Mrs. H. L. Heidelberg was the first worthy matron and Mrs. Ella Everts the first secretary.
The Woman’s Club, one of Anthon’s outstanding organizations in the 60’s, begun in 1903. The club had its beginning with the political equality club, organized in 1902 with a membership of 14 ladies. In 1903 the political movement was dropped and the Anthon Woman’s Club was started, with the sponsoring of a public library as its goal. The club joined the Iowa Federation in 1907 and in 1920 affiliated with the General Federation of Women’s Clubs. The Woman’s Club was active up until 1996, when the final meeting was held at the Community Center with 18 women attending.
Always an aggressive, enterprising town, Anthon consistently has kept in step with the progress of the times. The town installed an electric lighting system at the cost of $13,000 in 1917 and a sewer system at the cost of $6,000 in 1917. Cutback asphalt covering was put on the principal streets of the town, beginning this project around 1935.
In the more recent years (written in 1963), Anthon has experienced an extension of its street black topping with nearly all the streets done and excellently maintained. In the early 1960s, Anthon gained a new town hall, the Sioux Valley Medical Clinic, a new post office building, a large addition to the public school, shelter house, sanitary dumping grounds, Lutheran parsonage, Methodist parsonage, Catholic school and convent, Lutheran church building and the Lyon office building. Also substantial improvements have been made to many business places.
Further information can be found in the Anthon Centennial Book 1888-1988 and the Anthon Quasquicentennial Book 1888-2013.