Commercial Hotel 303 N. Market 1904
I am fairly certain that the Commercial Hotel at 303 N. Market Street was created out of necessity. For years this location had been the home of a very large family. John Henry and Almira Catherine (Barham) Reynolds had seen the birth of 12 children and already the deaths of at least three or four. Continue reading
Almira Catherine Barham was born in Robinson County, Tennessee, September 12, 1841. Her parents were Judge Thomas N. Barham and Elizabeth Perry, both natives of Tennessee, who came to Marion, Illinois in 1856, bringing Mrs. Reynolds, then only 15, with them, and where Judge Barham died in 1867. Continue reading
In August 1972, a newly formed corporation called American Train Heritage, Inc. purchased their first piece of a projected steam railroad tour train dream for the Crab Orchard and Egyptian Railroad. Continue reading
Lynch Mob Gathers ca 1916
This photo, circa 1918, of the east side of the first block of North Market Street just off the square shows a lynch mob gathering. According to information on the back of the photo the man on the balcony is holding a machine gun. Blowups of the picture show a white man in a dark suit holding a black man in a white shirt by the arm under the balcony. The crowd is split on racial lines with blacks facing south toward the camera and whites facing north with their backs towards the camera. Continue reading
J. H. Siekman came to Marion June 1, 1913, to serve as Principal of Brown’s Business College. The school was located on the main floor of the Masonic building located on the southeast corner of West Main and Monroe Streets (315 W. Main St.) Continue reading
