Marion Illinois History Preservation

1950, Roland Theater Sale Stirs Memories

Posted on January 3, 2014 by wcihsJanuary 3, 2014

Sale of Roland Building Stirs Memories of Theater’s Heyday

The news that the Roland Theater building had been sold recently stirred a lot of memories in the minds of the older Marion citizens, for that was the place the fellows took their girls and where pa took ma and ma took the kids.

C.F. Roland built the theater and named it for himself in 1906. Activities, however, really started one day when a man, his wife and small son came to town to play an engagement in the old Opera House. Continue reading →

Goddard Wholesale Grocery Company

Posted on July 23, 2013 by wcihsJuly 23, 2013

The wholesale grocery house of Goddard & Co. was operated in Marion as a branch of the large wholesale institution in St. Louis, which was incorporated in 1872. The company was present in Marion by the turn of the century and in the 1906 Marion directory they were listed at 118 E. Union Street. Continue reading →

1978- Buildings Yield to Parking Needs

Posted on March 21, 2013 by wcihsFebruary 10, 2014

The sight of workmen building paved parking lots on public and private property in the segment of downtown Marion North West of the Tower Square Plaza calls attention to another of the ongoing programs to enable a municipality founded in the 19th century to accommodate late 20th century demands. Continue reading →

GTE, General Telephone Company, Marion, Illinois

Posted on February 13, 2013 by wcihsDecember 5, 2013

The General Telephone Company building was originally located at 201 N. Van Buren St., and was the one used by the Ohio and Mississippi Valley Telephone Co. The original building was constructed by Joab Goodall, but has been remodeled several times. Continue reading →

Ohio and Mississippi Valley Telephone Co., Marion, Illinois

Posted on February 8, 2013 by wcihsFebruary 14, 2013

Joab Goodall 1904

Joab Goodall started the first telephone company in Marion in the late 1880’s. His first telephone building was located at 102 N. Liberty St. The Ohio and Mississippi Valley Telephone Co. operated with Goodall as president until 1917, when they sold to the Murphysboro Telephone Co. A. B. Minton was president and principal stockholder of this company and W. C. Alexander was an official of the company. Continue reading →