About Us

by Bert Wetherill

The railroad was the “spark” that drew in the people who ultimately built the town of Anna. James Lafayette Greer, known as Captain Greer, migrated to Collin County in 1867. He purchased a large amount of land including what would later become the site of Anna. He donated land for the Houston & Texas Central Railroad (H&TC) main line, switch tracks, and depot. This donation of land guaranteed the route of the railroad through the future town of Anna. When the railroad was first completed through the Anna area there was as yet no town of Anna. There was, however, a flag stop where Anna was later established. A flag stop was a spot along a railroad where a flag or signal could be raised to tell a train crew that passengers or freight was ready to be picked up. It’s not yet known when the railroad sidings at Anna were built. It may have been at the same time the main line was built in 1873, but they were certainly in place when the depot was constructed. By 1883 twenty new residents had moved into the area and Anna was ready for more recognition. The town officially got its name, its first post office, and its first postmaster on May 9, 1883. Anna’s first plat of streets and lots was recorded at the courthouse in McKinney on November 8, 1883