This list shows the locations and numbers of licensed vehicles in Southern Illinois cities in the period from 1907 to early 1909 as taken from an Illinois Secretary of State Report. I defined Southern Illinois to be defined as a line parallel to the Alton area. There were a total of 10,799 licensed automobiles in the State of Illinois. Continue reading
Category Archives: Police
I encountered an interesting record in the Illinois Digital Archives that proved to be a list of automobile licenses issued by Illinois covering 1907 and up to early 1909 by the Secretary of State. There were a total of 10,799 licensed automobiles in the State of Illinois listed. Continue reading
1927 Marion Auto License
It is pretty well established that the Williamson County Fair has been, in the past, a very big affair not only for the county but for the entire region as well. So large were the crowds and conversely the numbers of automobiles that there is no way the fairground could handle all of the automobiles. The solution was to park elsewhere and catch a ride to the fair. 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
Gene Goolsby with Thompson
This photo was taken in 1995 by Jon Musgrave for the Marion History Edition of the Marion Daily Republican. Officer Gene Goolsby displays a 1921 Thompson submachine gun that was apparently confiscated during the gang wars era of the 1920’s. Policemen still test fire it on the shooting range periodically.