The following Glances at Life article written by Homer Butler in 1974 summarizes the beginnings of the city’s first industrial park development west of North Carbon in 1966, which made further development of the city’s west side beyond the Interstate possible.
From a vantage point on Interstate Route 57 where it traverses Marion, one can look east and west, and view a wide area of development that has taken place during the last eight years. Continue reading
The development of long range bombers by the Russians in the mid 1930’s put the U.S. government War Department on alert to its defense weaknesses and caused a scramble to relocate key bases and arsenal stockpiles from vulnerable coastal positions to more secure inland positions. This put Marion into the light of possibility for the manufacture and storage of a planned Chemical Warfare Arsenal. The project was planned to cost $21,000,000 and occupy 80,000,000 acres of land for the purposes of building, testing and storing chemical warfare agents. Continue reading
The Marion Chamber of Commerce, listing a few of its 1937 accomplishments and achievements. Continue reading
Bill L. Bainbridge was born July 8, 1922, in Marion, to Lawrence and Lottie Mae (Eyre) Bainbridge. Having been born into a family of merchants, Bill was a WWII veteran who spent his life in the family jewelry business and was the great-grand-son of J.B. Bainbridge, an early pioneering Marion merchant. Continue reading
Herman Bearden was born in Marion, on June 27, 1907, the son of Issac Noah and Sula (Moore) Bearden. He was an active builder, banker and businessman.
In the 1910 census, Herman was age 3 and living with his parents, three brothers and two sisters at the family home located at 1203 N. State Street. Herman’s father listed himself as a house carpenter. Continue reading