In early 2014, the old Marion Armory building at Vicksburg and DeYoung is being remodeled for use as the new Marion Police Department. The armory itself was vacated many years ago, when the reserve unit built a new armory west of the city close to the county airport property. The following is a series of articles related to the old armory land and building.
Army Pays $13,585 for Marion Land
The Marion Chamber of Commerce Tuesday was paid $13,585 by the U.S. Army Engineers for a site for the $182,000 armory in Marion.
The building will be at DeYoung and Vicksburg Streets.
The armory will be for a 100 man unit. At present two reserve companies are using a former garage building at 425 S. Court St. for training purposes.
Plans for the armory are expected to be completed soon. Work is tentatively set to begin Oct. 1.
The contractor will have 300 calendar days to complete the project.
The check was given to the Chamber by Army Atty. Raymond F. Doherty of Chicago at the Chamber office.
Representing the Chamber were George Dodds, President; Leonard Mitchell, Treasurer; William Travelstead, industrial committee chairman; W.S. McLaren and William Giles, trustees; D.D. Wright, executive secretary, and J.C. Mitchell, attorney.
(Southern Illinoisan, August 10, 1960)
Armory Bids Set in Marion
Final site plans for a $200,000 Army Reserve training center at Marion have been completed and construction bids will be called for on Feb. 13, Rep. Kenneth Gray (D-West Frankfort) said today.
Gray said bids will be opened March 9 and a contract will be awarded within a week of that date. The center will be a 100 man unit with a complete machine maintenance shop.
The building will be available for community functions when not required for Army activites, Gray said. It will be built at N. Vicksburg and W. DeYoung Streets.
Construction cost has been estimated at $186,000.
(Southern Illinoisan, November 4, 1960)
Armory Nearly Done
Work on the new federal armory at Marion is “practically finished,” according to officials of the W.E. Snyder Construction Co. of Herrin. Only interior work and seeding for landscaping remains to be done. The 100 man 83 by 53 foot armory and 28 by 42 foot maintenance shop are scheduled for official completion January 29. Work on the $144,585 project started July 5.
(Southern Illinoisan December 26, 1961)
Armory Dedication Due
The “Pfc. Richard G. Wilson USAR Center” will be dedicated at 10 a.m. Saturday (Oct. 6, 1962) in Marion.
Rep. Kenneth Gray, D-West Frankfort, is scheduled to be the principal speaker at dedication of the new United States Army Reserve Center on New Rt. 13.
It is named in honor of the Marion soldier who was killed in the Korean conflict. He gave his life trying to shield and give first aid to a wounded comrade.
Pfc. Wilson was awarded the Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military honor, posthumously for his action. A plaque at the armory will read “He dared to die that others might live.”
His parents, Bert Wilson of Marion and Mrs. Alice Wilson of Cape Girardeau, Mo. will attend.
Major Gen. Curtis J. Herrick, St. Louis, 11th Army Corps Commander, will attend. Others taking part in the ceremony will be:
Mayor Robert Cooksey, Chamber of Commerce President James Wilson, Col. Oldham Paisley, Col. Jason Collins, Elmo Jeremiah, Veterans of Foreign Wars, Post Commander, and Hugh Petus, American Legion, Post Commander.
The Rev. J.D. McCarty, Second Baptist Church pastor, will give the invocation. The Rev. William A. Staton, Block Chapel Church of God pastor, will give the benediction.
The Johnston City Woodmen of the World Drum and Bugle Corps and the Marion High School band will play.
The sponsoring unit is the 5138th Logistical Command, Marion Reserve Unit commanded by Col. John Giles, Marion. Master of Ceremonies will be Major Herbert B. Settle, Carbondale, a member of the Marion Unit.
The public is invited to the ceremony and an open house to inspect equipment.
(Southern Illinoisan, October 5, 1962)