The City of Anne Falls

Founded 1615 (New Netherlands)

Founded April 19, 1665 (English)

Incorporated October 16, 1830

Named for: Disputed (See Below)

Government

Type Faulkner Act (Mayor Council)

Body City Council

Mayor James Turner

Administrator Margaret Bennett

Area:

Total 9 sq mi (includes Kingland Forest)

Land 7 sq mi

Water 2 sq mi (includes Queen Lake and James River)

Population

Total 24,634

Males 13. 056 (53%)

Females 11, 577 (47%)

White 97%

Black of African America 2%

Latino 1%

Other Less than 1%

Anne Falls was originally founded as part of New Netherlands. Later, when the English took possession of the settlement in 1664, Anne Falls became part of the English, later British Empire. Colonel Nicholas Strickland was sent to inform the citizens in the area of the transfer and he arrived in Anne Falls on April 19, 1665, which is considered the ‘true’ founding of the city.

There is some debate over the city’s name. The Falls part comes from a waterfall that had dried up sometime in the mid 1700s, but the Anne part remains questionable.

While everyone agrees the city was named after Queen Anne, she didn’t become Queen until 1702. Her uncle, Charles II, was king when New Netherlands was surrendered. Some have suggested the city was renamed in honor of her ascending to the throne, but there are records possibly from before 1702 naming the city Anne Falls.  As Anne was born in February 1665, it’s possible the citizens renamed the city in honor of her birth, or it retained it’s original Dutch name, with Anne being someone else.

While Anne Falls does have a rich colonial history, it never became as famous as other places, and remained an average city until the end of the twentieth century, when it became the site of a UFO encounter, dubbed The Queen Lake Incident.

Anne Falls borders the Kingland Forest, a 3 sq mi state park, which contains the square mile Queen Lake. The forest is considered part of the city, accounting for almost half of the city’s area.

Anne Falls was once a major industry hub in the late 19th and early 20th century, but is now home to multiple small and large businesses. The largest company in the city is Xenon LLC, which started as a real estate business but branched out into other industries in the early 21st century.

As of the latest census, Anne Falls, 97% identified as White, with 2% as Black or African American, 1% as Hispanic or Latino, and less than one percent as Other.

The city has two elementary schools, two middles schools and two high schools, one regular and one technical. There is also one private school which is K-12.