Anthracnose is a vegetatively transitioned disease: it can stay overwintered in soil that ANY debris is left in from the previous year, it will get into any compost made with infected plants.

Suggested controls: Creating great drainage, Crop rotation (necessarily for all diseases of tomatoes and many other summer vegetables, do not save seeds from infected tomatoes, Systemic fungicides, keep all plants well staked so that foliage is not laying in the garden, do not use overhead irrigation: keep the foliage as dry as possible which means you need to space tomatoes so that they get good air circulation, mulch well.

I've not had this problem on my tomatoes, however I've had it on other plants - it takes patience and care.

Are you very sure it's Anthracnose? I'm not saying it isn't (or that you do not already practice the above listed cultural suggestions), but sometimes tomato disease are confusing especially early in their progression.

Yes, I am rather positive that it's anthracnose. I viewed a very good link about it with pictures and it exactly describes the progression of the disease on my plants. It's been going on a few years now, I realize, in this one area where I usually plant tomatoes. I have 2 other areas where I grow tomatoes--one area is beginning to show signs of the disease this year. The other is still clean this year.
Other than being sure to remove all debris from that area, do I need to treat the soil with anything? how many seasons should I not plant tomatoes (or peppers) there? I read somewhere that flea beetles can carry that fungus and I had a bad bad presence of those this year for the first time.
As you can tell, this really upsets me! Its been so disheartening to see these huge wonderful tomatoes turn rotten by the time they are ripe.

Anthractnose is not really that huge of a deal. Sometimes mine get it early on and then the later foliage ends up looking super. Sometimes after the first total picking of tomatoes I cut them back quite far, spray them with neem oil (early in the AM, as directed on the package as a fungicide) and let them grow back. They often produce all fall and are gorgeous.
Next year you can try your tomatoes and see if Serenade will help early in the season as you are planting. However rotation of tomatoes (solanums in general) and basil are highly recommended because there are many other, far more serious diseases that can infect the plants and will be IN the soil. Anthractnose is not IN the soil, the spores lay on the soil and when it rains they splash up onto the plants.
My normal routine now is to get rid of all diseased and discolored foliage several times a week. A neighbor just gave me a dust buster (to suck up the stink bugs with) but I've also been using it to suck up the leaf debris that falls! None of the matted straw gets into it. I go ahead and spray (not often, maybe twice a year) the straw lightly with neem too, to kill any spores hanging out there.

These are just ideas. You can also ask on the Tomato forum and on the Organics forums to ask if anyone else has any other tricks up their sleeves. The big key is to spray EARLY, like 6am so that you don't catch any polinators working and so that everything is well dry before the burning hot sun shines on that foliage and burns the neem oil on the leaves to a crisp!!

Good luck!!

I get anthracnose on my roses, usually in the fall. I use a systematic fungicide that unfortunately is not suitable for edibles. But if you are only having a problem in that spot, I do suggest, as ggg said, not to plant tomatoes there for a few years. You can also try a dormant spray of lime sulphur in the winter to kill any spores on the ground. Just make sure you use the concentration for a dormant spray, otherwise it will not do that much.

I do think Daconil, which is suitable for edibles, can prevent anthracnose, but it has to be applied regularly before the disease takes hold.

Anthracnose is primarily a fruit problem with tomatoes, it seems (not a foliage problem, although I'm sure it can be a foliage problem). It can get inside fruits that appear unblemished, even (the fungus is visible inside). However, typically, you see circular impressions on the tomato (rather than it being unblemished). The problem can persist with tomatoes in storage, too.

There is only one tomato I know about with anthracnose resistance, and it's an F1 hybrid: Chef's Choice Orange. It sounds like a good tomato, though, fortunately. Amana Orange is in its ancestry. Amana Orange is heat-tolerant (so, I have hope that Chef's Choice Orange will be, too).

I don't know if Amana Orange has anthracnose resistance, but it might be worth experimenting. If it doesn't, I'm guessing the other parent of the F1 hybrid does.

I have some other suggestions. Try sea minerals. They quickly cured my pepper plant of a bad foliar fungal infection (I applied them to the soil). They might help protect against anthracnose in tomatoes, too.

Anyway, our tomatoes had anthracnose this year (which only became a problem at the end of the season, and with the storage tomatoes). So, I can sympathize.