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Anna and Jonesboro Black Communities

Anna and Jonesboro, Union County, Illinois · Midwest

Black Population within Small Towns

Forced Expulsion

Categories: Forced Expulsion & Racial Cleansing

What was built

Established or development period
1860s–1909
Peak period
1890s–1900s
Who built the community
Black laborers, railroad workers and families in southern Illinois.
Black population
A small Black population in both towns before the expulsion.
Businesses
Not yet documented
Financial institutions
Not yet documented
Churches
Not yet documented
Schools
Not yet documented
Hospitals
Not yet documented
Newspapers
Not yet documented
Entertainment & cultural institutions
Not yet documented
Other community institutions
Not yet documented
Black land & property ownership
Not yet documented.
Economic significance
Black labor in southern Illinois agriculture and rail work.

What happened

What happened?
After the November 1909 lynching of Will James in nearby Cairo, white mobs drove Black residents out of Anna and Jonesboro. Both towns excluded Black residents for generations; Anna became notorious for a racist backronym still associated with the town.
Trigger or precipitating event
The lynching of Will James in Cairo and the mob wave that followed across Union County.
Underlying historical context
Southern Illinois sundown-town formation and lynching culture in the Ohio River region.
Method of destruction / displacement
Expulsion · Mob Violence · Threats and Intimidation · Lynching
Date or period of destruction
November 1909 and the years following
Confirmed / documented deaths
Will James was lynched in Cairo; no confirmed deaths in Anna or Jonesboro.
Estimated deaths
Not yet documented
People displaced
The Black populations of both towns.
Homes destroyed
Not yet documented
Businesses destroyed
Not yet documented
Acres or property lost
Not yet documented.

Afterward

What happened to the land?
Black residence in both towns effectively ended.
Was compensation paid?
None.
Was the community rebuilt?
No
What was rebuilt?
Not yet documented
Destroyed or displaced again?
Not yet documented
Second displacement date
Not yet documented
Second displacement cause
Not yet documented
What exists there today?
Two overwhelmingly white southern Illinois towns with continuing public reckoning over the history.
Descendant, reparation & restoration efforts
Local and university-based public-history documentation.
Historical significance
Among the most enduring sundown towns in the Midwest, with exclusion persisting for most of the twentieth century.

Sources

  • Book or scholarly work

    James W. Loewen, Sundown Towns (New Press, 2005)

    Find
  • Source lookup

    Illinois State Historical Society

    Find
  • Primary record

    Southern Illinois University archives

    Find
  • Primary record

    Library of Congress, Chronicling America: 1909 Illinois newspapers

    Find

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Last verified: 2026-09-20. This is a living historical collection. Additional communities and documentation will be added as research and verification continue.