Anne Johnston Anderson was born in Rock Hill, South Carolina on April 23, 1914 to John Wesley and Anne Luckey ‘Jenks’ Anderson. She attended Winthrop Training School and enrolled in Winthrop College where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in History and English. As a college student she organized the Roosevelt-Garner Club and the Young Democratic Club of York County and went on to be selected as the Young Democrats national committeewoman from South Carolina in 1933.

After graduating in 1934, she attended George Washington Law School. While studying there she met Donald Wilkins, an assistant dean and roll-keeper for one of her classes. They married on September 4, 1937. In 1938 she graduated with her L.L.B. while her husband received his Master’s degree in the same ceremony. That same year she also passed the District of Columbia Bar.

In 1939 the Wilkins family moved to Fairfax County living in a small house in Lee Boulevard Heights where Anne raised their two children, Gary and John. In 1943 the Wilkins’ bought and moved into the Munson Hill estate. The house, built in 1859, saw many encounters between Confederate and Union forces during the Civil War, including J.E.B Stuart’s occupation of the hill.

The public health situation of Fairfax County stimulated Wilkins’ involvement in local politics. Her children attended a local school and she felt that the health department did not give adequate attention to communicable disease control. Wilkins met with the local public health officer to raise her concerns and he inspired her to organize citizen support for public health facilities. As a result, she founded the Lay Health Association which sought to broaden the scope of the health department.

Wilkins went on to become very active in civic affairs. In 1941 she and her husband founded the Fairfax County Federation of Citizens Association. She also worked bringing about community change with the Community Chest, the League of Women Voters, the Good Government Committee and the PTA.

In 1947 the County Board proposed rezoning land near Seven Corners for the construction of Willston Apartments, a large unwanted apartment complex that would dramatically increase the community’s population. With plenty of support, Anne Wilkins led the opposition to the rezoning. Nevertheless, the County Board rezoned it, and her defeat inspired Wilkins to get more involved with politics to instigate change.

In 1950, Anne and Donald acted as leaders in the campaign to change the inefficient form of the county government. Under the old form, voters separately elected all heads of government, the county suffered a lack of budget control, and the government was unprepared for the rapid influx of population in the area. Through their involvement with the Federation of Citizens Association and League of Women Voters, they successfully won this campaign. On November 5, 1950 Fairfax County voters approved the county executive form of government to be implemented in 1952.

In 1951 with the help of the League of Women Voters, Wilkins set up a grassroots campaign to get her elected to the Board of Supervisors. She successfully acquired the Democratic nomination for supervisor in the Falls Church District over incumbent C.B. Runyon. She went on to win the general election over Republican Frank Clem, which made her the only woman board member in Virginia at that time. In 1955 she ran for reelection in the Mason District defeating Republican James L. Deaver, and again in 1959. In 1958, she served as the board’s first female chairman and again in 1960 and 1961. She lost her campaign for a fourth term in 1963 to Republican Stanford E. Parris.

Wilkins accomplished a tremendous amount of progress in her twelve years on the Board and is credited for single-handedly shaping the direction of Fairfax County’s growth and development. During her first year on the Board in 1952, Wilkins oversaw the implementation of the county executive form of government. During the change, elected officials transitioned into appointed offices.

As one of the first advocates for a countywide master plan, she immediately initiated the master plan studies which resulted in the county’s first long-range Master Plan for land use. The Master Plan formed the basis for all future development in the county. While on the board, she planned and built a county-wide sewer and water system, set up modern county police and fire departments, provided garbage collecting services, and created guidelines for storm drainage. She helped build modern schools, improved school standards, aided in the formation of George Mason University, and successfully led Fairfax County through integration despite substantial resistance. In addition to setting up a modern public health department and constructing new clinics, Wilkins helped establish Fairfax Hospital, the county’s first hospital. Wilkins also fought a losing battle for annexation of the City of Fairfax.

Wilkins served on the Planning Commission and involved herself in many land-use and zoning issues. She convinced the federal government of moving the proposed metropolitan area airport from Burke to Chantilly. The government had already purchased the land in Burke for the construction of the airport, despite major protest from the community. After consulting soil scientists, Wilkins discovered that Burke had insufficient soil and an abundant amount of granite that would be costly to remove for the construction of runway foundations. The Chantilly location had adequate soil which would prove to be more economical for construction. While the government later cited the traffic pattern for moving the airport to Chantilly, her argument convinced them enough to cease pursuing the Burke location and re-evaluate their plans. She later successfully lobbied for a sufficient right of way for the Dulles Toll Road.

While on the Board of Supervisors, Wilkins also acted as a charter member of the Washington Metropolitan Regional Conference, now known as the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments. She served on several of its committees including Transportation in which she laid the groundwork for future development of the Metro. While on the Water Supply and Pollution Abatement Committee, she succeeded in cleaning up the Potomac River and adopted water quality standards. As Chairman of the Civil Defense and Public Safety Committee she sought standards for protection against the effects of nuclear weapons.

When she lost reelection in 1963, Wilkins drifted away from politics. She became a real estate broker with Edward R. Carr, Inc. handling Carr’s land and commercial sales in Springfield and Annandale. In 1972 she started her own real estate business, Anne Wilkins & Associates, and went on to make a major land sale that became the planned community of Lake Ridge in Prince William County.

After leaving politics, her family suffered multiple tragedies. In 1966, the Alexandria Federal Court convicted Donald Wilkins of income tax evasion. Accused of submitting fraudulent tax returns that cheated the government out of almost $23,000, Wilkins served a brief prison sentence. Anne had filed joint returns with her husband but the government did not charge her with misconduct. In 1977, Wilkins’ son, John, died suddenly of an aneurysm at age 33. Anne retired from her real estate business in 1993 and moved to Merry Point, Virginia. She died at her home of breast cancer on September 9, 1996.