[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 87 (Tuesday, June 22, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1211-E1212]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE 150TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CITY OF ANNA, ILLINOIS

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JERRY F. COSTELLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Tuesday, June 22, 2004

  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, today I'd like my colleagues to join me in 
honoring the sesquicentennial of one of the oldest communities in 
southern Illinois, Anna.
  The city of Anna, Illinois, was platted as a community in 1853 by 
Winstead Davie. Anna was named for Mr. Davie's wife, who was one of the 
children of Mrs. Nancy Willard, an early settler of Jonesboro, 
Illinois. Anna was planned with the coming Illinois Central Railroad 
line in the area.
  In 1857, business and commerce came to Anna with the Anna Quarry, 
which has produced crushed rock, lime and building stone ever since. 
The stone produced in the quarry was used to build the Stinson Memorial 
Library and the First Presbyterian Church in Anna. The library was 
designed by Walter Burley Griffin who was a student of famed architect, 
Frank Lloyd Wright. During the Civil War, Anna hosted Camp Dubois and 
was a major staging point for union activities in the western theatre 
of the war. During the famous Lincoln-Douglas Debates held in the fall 
of

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1858 in Jonesboro at the Union County Fairgrounds, Abraham Lincoln 
stayed in a house on Main Street in Anna, Illinois
  In 1873, the Anna Mental Health Center opened providing employment 
for many residents throughout the region. The business section of Anna, 
which had been building up for two decades since the city's founding, 
suffered two major fires, one in 1876 and the other in 1879.
  The Anna Fair was organized in December of 1879 and has come to be 
known as one of the top county fairs in Illinois. Held in August, the 
fair features horse racing, produce exhibits, livestock shows and other 
events.
  Walter Willard and Rev. William Faris were responsible for opening 
the Union Academy, a private school, in 1883. For nearly 35 years the 
Union Academy served as an educational institution for many leaders in 
the area. In 1916, the Academy closed and the property came into the 
ownership of the high school.
  Early Anna industries include Anna Pottery, known for its high 
quality work and the Flora Temple Mills, where flour was produced. Anna 
Pottery started operations in 1859 by C & W. W. Kirkpatrick, two Ohio 
brothers who migrated to the area. Clay found in area soils, together 
with the skill of the potters, brought fame and prestige to Anna 
Pottery. The brothers produced crocks, jugs and sewer tiles.
  While the pottery facility closed in 1900, the one-of-a-kind items 
that were produced are considered folk art and fetch very high prices 
at auctions. Anna or Kirkpatrick Brothers pottery is one of the most 
sought after ceramics today.
  Tobacco was processed in Anna from 1862 to 1870. Fruit and vegetables 
have also been important to the Anna economy since 1860. Apples and 
peaches are the chief commodities of the region and these fruits are 
marketed and sold to major metropolitan area markets. Anna was also 
home to a large Farmer's Market, built in 1934 to accommodate these 
products, the Anna City Hall now sits where the market once stood.
  Anna is only a mile away from its sister city, Jonesboro, the seat of 
Union County, Illinois. Anna is a community rich in tradition and 
continues to serve as a major agricultural center for southern 
Illinois.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the founding 
of the community and the people of Anna, Illinois on the occasion of 
its 150th Anniversary.

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