This old country school once sat outside of Marion, Illinois at the turn of the century. Its location is shown on a 1908 Williamson County Plat map. When the government began talking of buying the surrounding property up for a new VA hospital, Oldham Paisley had the foresight to grab this picture. Based on the map location, it appears he snapped the picture from old route 13 looking south and standing roughly in front of the Crisp property just on the west side of where I-57 southbound is now.

When the property was secured by the government, the school was relocated to Fifth Street on the lot where the school buses are parked and maintained. It remained there until the spot was required for a bus maintenance building at which time it was demolished. Note that in the 1908 map, seventh street didn’t run north from Rt 13 as it does now but did run south to what is now Westminster Drive.

According to Bob Jackson with the Williamson County Historical Society, this school was also called Mission Ridge School.Anyone having further information on this school, please share.

See also, “Memories of Mission Ridge School”.

(Photos from Williamson County Historical Society and 1908 Williamson County Plat map, compiled by Sam Lattuca on 02/02/2013)