Anderson, SOUTH CAROLINA - Main Street: Anderson is a city in and the county seat of Anderson County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 26,686 at the 2010 census, and the city was the center of an urbanized area of 75,702. It is one of the principal cities in the Greenville-Mauldin-Anderson Metropolitan Statistical Area, contiguous with Anderson County, which had a population of 187,126 at the 2010 census. Anderson was named for a Revolutionary War hero, Robert Anderson. General Anderson and Andrew Pickens surveyed the land in this area. The Cherokee Native Americans lived in this area until 1777. The land was then ceded to South Carolina by the Cherokee in a treaty negotiated by Pickens. This area was then called the Pendleton District for official purposes. The settlers of this area were mostly Scots-Irish who came from Virginia and Pennsylvania to farm. Farmers grew corn and raised hogs. Much later, cotton became the cash crop of the area. By the late 19th century, the Anderson area was filled with numerous textile mills. Due to the innovation of Anderson engineer William Whitner, electricity could be conducted by wire to mills throughout the county. Anderson was the first city in the United States to have a continuous supply of electric power, which was supplied by a water mill located in the high shoals area of the Rocky River in Anderson County. The first cotton gin in the world to be operated by electricity was built in Anderson County in 1897. Several areas of Anderson are named in Whitner's honor, including a downtown street. Anderson became known as "The Electric City", a nickname that it still holds today. This Linen Era (1930-45) postcard is in good condition. Asheville Post Card Co. No. E-4887. No. A-22.