European settlers came to the North Texas area in the early 1800s. The area around Anna was first settled in the mid-19th century. The original primary settlement was the Mantua community, near what is now the intersection of U.S. Highway 75 and CR 371. The Mantua community virtually disappeared when the H&TC Railroad line bypassed the settlement to the east in the late 1870s. Many of the Mantua area residents moved to the new town of Anna, which was built along the new rail line. Perhaps a sign of the times is that the City is currently reviewing a 3,000 acre development, a Stonebridge quality project, that is centered around the original Mantua site. The project name is Mantua.
From the late 1800's until the end of the 20th century, Anna was a small, rural community. The town experienced a steady, but very limited growth between 1950-2000, but still remained less than 1500 population by the year 2000. Since early 2002, the City has experienced phenomenal growth. On a percentage basis, Anna has been the fastest growing city in the North Central Texas region over the past four years. The City's population has gone from 1,225 in 2000 to an estimated 7,600 in August 2006.