History · Anchor

Anchor’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold no old photos of Anchor. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

1880established

0old images & papers

0recent photos

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Anchor was laid out on April 28, 1880, by Daniel B. Stewart (1837 – 1920). Stewart was a large landowner in the area. He was born in New York and had come to Illinois in the early 1860s. With others Stewart donated $10,000 to build ten miles of the railroad. The town was created when the Clinton Bloomington and Northeastern Railroad was built. Colfax, Cropsey and Cooksville were laid out at the same time. This railroad was soon absorbed by the Illinois Central. The first trains passed through the town on July 4, 1880. The town takes its name from Anchor Township; early McLean County historians wrote that they did not know the source of the name Anchor.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Be one of the first

Start Anchor’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Anchor’s history is told.

0 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Famous people from AnchorWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Anchor.Meet them →

By decade

Anchor, decade by decade

Before
2000

No old photos in the archives yetWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

📷 Add from your album

National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Anchor is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Anchor has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Alfred Phillips House in Gibson City, 11.2 miles away.