1004 West Main Street sits on the corner of West Main and North Vicksburg, just across the intersection from where C.H. Denison lived and the Marion Memorial Hospital was located later. The property also, at one time in the 1870’s, sat just inside the village limits of Vicksburg, Illinois, which later got absorbed by the city of Marion, Illinois.

Although the home has had some fairly major changes to it, the same basic structure is apparent. The most obvious change is the complete removal of the rounded, extended room section on the corner.

From the 1890’s to the 1930’s this house served as the home to the Honorable John H. Duncan and his family. Duncan was instrumental in helping shape the school system of Williamson County as well as the leading newspapers of the times. He had a thriving hardware business partnership, served as alderman for the City of Marion twice and was a member of the Legislature. Duncan was originally, commissioner of the Chester prison and later made President of Prison Commissioners for the State of Illinois.

The Duncan’s were likely the first ones in this home which I suspect was built in the 1890’s. The couple saw the loss of two children out of three. Their third child, Rose, married and lived only two doors down at 1008 West Main.

When the Duncan’s were retired at the home in their later years, they took on boarders in the large house. The first of many that would occupy this home over time.

Both of the Duncans passed away in the early 1930’s.

In 1939 W.L. Armstrong was occupying the home. By the 1940’s the house was owned by Grover Chamess.

I suspect Grover Chamness always took in boarders in the house,  by 1965 it was officially named “Chamness Inn Apartments”.

I know for sure that the house was listed with Grover as owner up to 1990, but I am not sure if he or a descendant still owns it today. I do know that it is still used as apartments in February of 2013.

 I remember the original, double lot used to have the typical large brick adornments at the lot corners and on either side of the front sidewalk facing W. Main St. In my time, there were large trimmed shrubs bordering the property that extended from the brick adornments.

The east side of this very spacious lot serves as a parking lot for occupants of the apartments as it has for the decades I can recall, which would be the late 1950’s.

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(Photo and some data from 1905 Souvenir History, WCHS; Federal Census Records; Marion city directories; Marion City Cemetery Records; Current photos and compiled by Sam Lattuca on 02/16/2013)