The road leading to Carbondale from Marion that we now know as new Route 13 is a far cry from what or where it was in the early days when it was no more than a trail. Before Crab Orchard Lake was constructed around 1939, and a section of Route 13 was re-located around it, there was old Route 13, a narrow road extending out West Main Street in Marion and running almost straight, dead west to Carbondale, joining East Walnut in Carbondale, about a half mile south of where new Route 13 now intersects Giant City Road. Continue reading →