Although few people have any knowledge of this Marion company anymore, the American Creosote Company, also known as American Creosoting Co., appears to have thrived in Marion for about five decades. The company preserved railroad ties with creosote, a thriving business in the day when rail was still king. According to an article published in the Carbondale Egyptian Press in February of 1907, a Mr. E.P. Garrett who, for the previous three years, had been superintendent of the Ayer & Lord Tie Co. of that city had taken a similar position with American Creosote in Marion. The Marion plant was said to have been under construction and was expected to be completed and operating in several months, probably by the middle of summer. Continue reading →