Ander

Ander, on Farm Road 1961 in northern Goliad County, was settled during the pre-Civil War German immigrations by families from Prussia, Saxony, Alsace, and Lorraine. The community was originally named Hanover after the German city and duchy. The settlers earned their livelihood from farming and raising hogs, sheep, poultry, and some cattle. Since the town was never on a railroad, freight had to be hauled by wagon from Cuero and Yorktown; turkeys were herded to market in Cuero several times a year. A general store, one of the community's most important institutions, operated under various owners from the 1860s to 1972. In time Ander had a horse-powered cotton gin, which was later converted to steam; a blacksmith shop, which became a garage and filling station in a later era; and a hospital, which operated from 1896 to 1920. A mission Lutheran church, administered by the pastor of Meyersville, was conducted in various homes until 1876, when St. Peter's Lutheran Church was established and became the first church in Goliad County and the focus of the community's life. The present structure was built in 1966.