The Anthony townsite was planned out in 1878. The city was named after the 7th governor of Kansas, George T. Anthony. He was governor at the time. After Harper County was reorganized in 1878, Anthony became the temporary county seat. This is because Bluff City, which was county seat of the fraudulent county organization, did not exist at the time. In 1879, a county seat election was held, and Anthony won over Harper City even though 2,960 ballots were cast with 800 legal voters in the county.