A Word From The Mayor
As Mayor of the Town of Anderson, I would like to welcome you to our official website. I hope you find it useful and informative when searching for information about the historical Town of Anderson.
Until 1995, Anderson was not incorporated. At that time the town was having major sewer problems and the state threatened to shut the Courthouse down if the problem wasn’t fixed. One solution was to incorporate the town in order for the town to be eligible for grants to acquire a sewer system. This was made possible in 1995 with John Freeman becoming the first Mayor. Under his leadership, the Town of Anderson became incorporated in 1998. In 2003, he retired and I, Gail Sowell, took over his position as Mayor. There are approximately 250 residents within the small city limit area but thousands with an Anderson address who live on the outskirts of town.
As Mayor, I have seen the county grow with many new businesses and subdivisions going in over the last decade. Although the town is small within the city limits, it includes county offices, the Courthouse, Sheriff’s Office and Appraisal District. It also has two schools, two cafés, several churches, a grocery store and gas station, antique shops and a couple of tire shops. The Anderson Volunteer Fire Station, the American Legion Hall and the historical Fanthorp Inn State Park are also within the city limits. So all this means is that lots of people come to Anderson to do business of all kinds, to work or to play.
So I feel as Mayor, I need to try to do my best in keeping the appearance of the town as nice as possible for those coming through and to the town. During my tenure so far, I’ve gotten every street in the town paved, put in new culverts and improved the drainage in the ditches and added more street lights. The Aldermen recently passed some ordinances to clean up the town and rid it of unsightly structures. A couple of structures have been removed so far as we continue to “clean up the town” as best as we can. Because of these ordinances, residents have recently strived to clean up and keep up their property. The Grimes County Master Gardeners also took on a project to beautify Main St. with shrubs and flowers. So I’m optimistic lots of good things will be happening in Anderson in the years to come.
I have been a resident of Anderson for over 25 years. I sometimes sit on my front porch swing and look up the street at the courthouse. Being the historic town it is, I wonder what days were like 100 years ago and then wonder what days will be like here in another 100 years.
Serving as Mayor of Anderson is a volunteer service that requires full-time dedication to fulfill the duties of this elected office. But it’s well worth it since I love this community and what it stands for. When I’m away and returning home, there’s no better feeling than topping any hill from the north, west, south or east and seeing the Grimes County Courthouse. I’m proud to live here and proud to be your Mayor.
Gail Sowell
Mayor, Town of Anderson
