Native Americans friendly to the settlers resided in East Texas[3] before the Kiowa, Kickapoo, Kichai, Apache, and Comanche relocated to the territory.

From 1843 onward, the Tawakoni were part of treaties made by both the Republic of Texas and the United States.

On May 19, 1836, an alliance of Comanche, Kiowa, Caddo, and Wichita attacked Fort Parker (Limestone County), killing and taking settlers captive.

The survivors escaped to Fort Houston, which had been erected in Anderson County in 1835 as protection against Indians.

[8] In October 1838, Gen. Thomas Jefferson Rusk conducted a raid against hostile Indians at Kickapoo, near Frankston.

In 1826, empresario David G. Burnet received a grant from the Coahuila y Tejas legislature to settle 300 families in what is now Anderson County.

This entire group migrated to the Texas frontier, arriving in Austins Colony in November 1833,[11] and establishing Fort Parker (Limestone County) in 1834.

[15] When the American Civil War began, former Palestine district judge Judge John H. Reagan[16] served in the cabinet of the Confederate government as postmaster general, being captured at the end of the war and spending 22 months in solitary confinement.

In 1875, the International – Great Northern Railroad[18] placed its machine and repair shops and general offices in Palestine, causing the community to double in size over the next 5 years.

Racial and economic tensions had been high in the post-Reconstruction era and southern states had disenfranchised blacks and imposed Jim Crow in furtherance of white supremacy.

Afterward, 11 men were arrested and seven were indicted, including James Spurger, said by many to be the instigator, but no prosecution resulted.

[21] In January 2016, the state installed a highway historical marker in Slocum to recognize this unprovoked white attack on the black community.

[26] The Gus Engeling Wildlife Management Area was purchased by the state between 1950 and 1960,[27] much of it formerly owned by Milze L. Derden.

The terrain of Anderson County consists of hills carved by drainages and gullies, with numerous lakes and ponds.

[28] The terrain slopes to the south and east, with its highest points along the midpoint of its northern boundary line at 551 ft (168 m) ASL.

Among the growing population of Anderson county, its racial and ethnic makeup has remained predominantly non-Hispanic or non-Latino white, although its Hispanic and Latino American population of any race increased to consist of more than 11,000 residents as of 2020; the increase in Hispanic and Latino American residency reflected nationwide trends of diversification since the 2020 census.

Local TV media outlets include: KDFW-TV, KXAS-TV, WFAA-TV, KTVT-TV, KERA-TV, KTXA-TV, KDFI-TV, and KDAF-TV.

Other nearby TV stations that provide coverage for Anderson County come from the Tyler/Longview/Jacksonville market and they include: KLTV, KTRE-TV, KYTX-TV, KFXK-TV, and KETK-TV.