I ran across this Gimpses of Life article, by Homer Butler, written about 1965 that details some specifics of the old Williamson County Court House that I was unaware of. Continue reading
Category Archives: Court House
1922 crowd awaiting Herrin Mine Grand Jury on Public Square, Marion, Illinois
In 1922, a crowd on the public square in Marion, Illinois anxiously awaits the outcome of a Grand Jury to hand down verdicts related to the Herrin Mine massacres which occured earlier in the year. Scab mine workers who had been called in to work the mines during strikes at a mine just outside Herrin, Illinois had been brutally murdered and tortured.
(Photo from the Williamson County Historical Society)
County Court House Group ca 1953
This photo was found at the Williamson County Historical Society and is a photo of the county clerk’s staff that appeared in the Marion Daily Republican in January of 1954. The photo was taken by Carl Sorgen who was doing photography for the Marion Daily Republican.
Shown left to right are: County Clerk Harry R. Rodd, Deputy Clerks C.M. Edwards, James L. Kilbreth, Wiley Storme, Miss Hallie Richey, Miss Aileen Sims, Mrs. Dorothea Fry, Mrs. Cassie Gibbs and Miss Lois Jane Wilson. Mrs. Ruby Barger, another clerk in the office, was not present when the picture was made.
(Photo courtesy of the Williamson County Historical Society, photography by Carl Sorgen)
On October 7, 1839, the county court held its first meeting at the home of William and Bethany Benson, which served as a hotel as well as a courthouse. Continue reading