Anthony, the capital and largest city of Harper county, is situated a little southeast of the geographical center of the county in the Bluff creek valley, which is a fine agricultural district. When Harper county was legally organized in 1878 George T. Anthony, then governor of Kansas, was given power to locate the county seat, and the town was named in honor of the governor. The early settlers of Anthony were intelligent, industrious people, and for a time the growth of the place went forward with unabated vigor. Bonds were voted for railroad companies and for municipal improvements and Anthony joined in the rivalry with other towns during the boom days. The rush to Oklahoma on April 22, 1889, it is said, took away about one-half the population, and another hegira occurred some years later. Notwithstanding this the growth of the city was only temporarily impeded, and in 1910 reported a population of 2,669, an increase of 490 during the preceding decade, in spite of the emigration of 1903.

Underneath the city is a vein of fine salt, 400 feet in thickness, which has been developed, and a salt plant now turns out some 50,000 barrels annually. In addition to this great industry, the city has an ice plant, a glove factory, a well equipped waterworks system owned by the municipality, natural gas for fuel and light, an electric lighting plant, a fire department, large grain elevators, flour mills, two newspapers, a Carnegie library, and a good public school system. Ample banking facilities are provided, and the city, being located at the junction of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe, the Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific, the Kansas City, Mexico & Orient, the Kansas Southwestern and the Missouri Pacific railroads, its transportation facilities are unsurpassed. Hence it is a prominent shipping and distributing point, its exports being grain, live stock, salt, and the products of its manufacturing establishments. The Anthony Commercial club was organized on Jan. 1, 1909, and under its auspices a building and loan association has been organized to aid the people in becoming home owners. The Anthony postoffice is authorized to issue international money orders and four rural delivery routes supply the farmers in the vicinity with mail daily. All the leading express companies have offices, and the telegraph and telephone service is better than that often found in cities of similar size. That the people of Anthony are progressive in their ideas is evidenced by the fact that the commission form of government was adopted in Feb., 1909.