Anderson, IN news and local guide

Before Madison County was organized, William Conner entered the land on which Anderson stands. He sold it to John and Sarah Berry, who gave 32 acres to the county on condition that the county seat move there from Pendleton. John Berry laid out the first plat on November 7, 1827, and the seat moved to Anderson in 1828. The state's Mammoth Internal Improvement Act brought growth in 1837, and Anderson was incorporated as a town of 350 people in December 1838. The Central Canal, a branch of the Wabash and Erie, was planned through the town, but work stopped after the Panic of 1837, and Anderson fell back into a sleepy village. It was incorporated again in 1849 and reverted to village status in 1852. The completion of the Indianapolis and Bellefontaine Railroad and its station in 1852 brought the town to life. Anderson was incorporated a third time on June 9, 1853, and became a city of nearly 1,300 people on August 28, 1865. About twenty industries located there in the following decades. Natural gas was discovered in Anderson on March 31, 1887, and the Indiana gas boom drew gas-using businesses such as glassmaking. Sources Wikipedia: Anderson, Indiana