500 Block W. Main St.

 

Log Cabin on West Main St. 1904

Log Cabin on West Main St. 1904

Editor’s Notes: The Edwards flouring mill mentioned in the following article used to stand exactly where the Bob Stotlar Lumber Co. on W. Main St. now stands next to the I.C. tracks. The RR in those days were owned by the Chicago and Eastern Illinois Co (C.&E.I.). Where the old Blankenship auto parts building stands on the west side of the tracks was a mill pond fed by Crab Orchard Creek and was used to run the steam engines at the flour mill. The house in this article was located roughly in the parking lot on the east side of Bob Stotlar Lumber and next to the Baptist Church facing West Main St. The article is verbatim from the 1905 Souvenir book. Continue reading

C. & E. I. Railroad, Marion, Illinois

Thanks to an article written in the 1970’s by Homer Butler in his series “Glances at life”, a chunk of railroad history has been salvaged. Homer interviewed Eugene Morrison, co-owner of Home Oil Company. Eugene’s father was F.E. Morrison, who came to Marion in 1903 as a telegraph operator. In 1905, he became agent for the Chicago & Eastern Illinois Railroad and held the position till he retired in 1925 to devote full time to the Home Oil Company which he and a brother had previously started. Continue reading

Inskeet Glove Factory

The Inskeet Glove Company was lured into Marion under a three year contract with the Marion Board of Trade which in 1913 was a group of businessmen operating to promote Marion’s economy. Housing and manufacturing was encouraged. The Glove Company was one of a small handful of hopeful manufacturing businesses that were committed to Marion ‘s future.

The glove factory was operated by the Inskeet Manufacturing Company of Washington Courthouse, Ohio, which built and occupied a three story brick building built by local developers at the West Union Street Crossing on the C & EI Railroad. Continue reading