The following is a letter to the editor of the Marion Monitor newspaper in December 1874 written by a man from Corinth, Illinois about his visit to Marion in 1855.

Mr. Editor,

 In 1855, 19 years ago, I first saw the town of Marion and many have been the changes since then. Burkhart’s corner then had the best building on the public square, occupied by Goodall & Pulley. Hundley & Campbell were then doing a large business in dry goods and trading in stock. The old courthouse then stood in the middle of the square, a brick building of antique structure, then occupied by John H. White, County Clerk; George W. Goddard, Circuit Clerk and Joseph Huffstutler, Sheriff. The walls and ceiling of the old house were then nicely frescoed with smoke and cobwebs. The old brick hotel (the Western Exchange), then occupied by O.H. Wiley, on the north side of the square, had partly fallen down and was undergoing repairs.

There was but a few buildings north of N.B. Calvert’s residence. All around where the depot now stands was a low, swampy plot of land, a resort for ducks and plovers. Where Hundley’s brick now stands was an old log cabin; that and the building recently moved by M.W. Robertson constituted that block.  On the east were O.H. Wiley, John Eubanks, Jonathan Mulkey and Mr. Shane. The old jail and tobacco barn stood just below where the jail now stands; which constituted that part of town.

On the south were no buildings save the one where Frank Lowe now lives, and the old Thorne house in Sam Dunaway’s meadow. On the west were a few scattering buildings as far down as the mill, which then belonged (the mill) to John Hooper, a man of sterling qualities and great generosity.

Marion was then a small town, but a live one. If there were not three or four fights every Saturday, it was considered a dull day, and if a fellow wanted to fight and was too poor to pay his fine, the money was made up before the fight came off, so there could be no excuse for not having the fun. But I am glad that those days have passed and gone and a better state of things have been inaugurated. And in place of those old shanties, which then stood around the square, there are buildings which are second to none in any of our sister counties, and an enterprising population, which speak better things for Marion.

The school house and the various churches give a higher tone of morals to Marion than has ever been known before and with her railroad facilities, will soon vie with any town in Southern Illinois. Our county is unsurpassed for farm products, and growing in wealth and enterprise, our people are looking forward to the time when our railroad will be extended through the county, which will give a new impetus to our agricultural pursuits and bring our lands up to that status which they justly deserve.

(Source: Marion Monitor newspaper, December 10, 1874. By Sam Lattuca 10/04/2023)