The town of Anson was probably named after Leonard Niles Anson, a lumber baron of the mid to late 1800's who made his fortune at the Gilkey Anson lumber company in the Merril area.
The original town of Anson Station wasn't much of a town, simply a "train station" that was actually a boxcar without wheels propped up on a wooden platform that served the few people and lumbermen who got on and off there. Later on, it is reported, the boxcar lived out the end of it's days on a local farm as a pigpen.
Now, the township that encompasses the Jim Falls area bears the name of Anson and this park it contains, a nice little park with a playground, pavilions, tennis courts and the Old Abe State Trail right across the highway. A nice spot along the river where you can fish or take a break while biking the trail.