Category Archives: Residential

Marion’s Residential Homes and Living

Robertson, Martin W. 1839-1906, Merchant and Trustee, 403 E. Main St.

Posted on by June 30, 2014

Martin W. Robertson 1839-1905
Malvina Dunaway Robertson 1846-1916
403 E. Main Street, Marion, Illinois
403 E. Main Street, Marion, Illinois

Martin Wiley Robertson, Marion Trustee and merchant, was the son of Henry Robertson (1775-1845) of Nashville Tennessee and Mary Spiller (1798-1853) of Virginia by way of Tennessee. Mother, Mary, was the daughter of William Spiller and Winifred Benson.

Martin’s father, Henry Robertson, came to this part of Illinois, about 1818, returned to Tennessee, then came back in 1823, and settled three and a half miles northwest of Marion, filing his first land claim in 1836, where he farmed successfully until his death in 1845. Henry bought one of the original lots in Marion when the land for the town went up for sale. Continue reading →

Marion Illinois Properties on the National Register of Historic Places

Posted on by May 15, 2014

Did you know that there are five properties in Williamson County that are currently listed on the National Register of Historic places and all five of them are located in Marion, Illinois? The applications for all five are on file at the Williamson County Historical Society Museum located at 105 S. Van Buren Street, which is one of the five places listed. Continue reading →

1963, South Market Low Rent Elderly Housing Project

Posted on by March 6, 2014

South Market Elderly Housing
South Market Elderly Housing
South Market Elderly Housing
South Market Elderly Housing
South Market Elderly Housing

Planning for an elderly low-rent housing project that was formed as early as 1960 finally came to fruition in 1963 when the Williamson County Housing Authority got approval on 40 units in Herrin for $506,834 and 20 units in Marion for $265,684. By March of 1963, the Marion units were well under way but bad weather and an area-wide carpenter’s strike delayed construction of the units early on. By June the units were reported to be 98 percent complete and by the end of July they underwent preliminary inspection and final touches. Continue reading →

Aikman, James M. 1856-1921, 501 S. Market St., Gallagher & Co.

Posted on by August 24, 2023

501 S. Market St.
501 S. Market St. 1
501 S. Market St. 2

Samuel Aikman and his wife were early arrivals in this county. In 1837, they brought with them nine children. Aikman was smart enough to invest himself in real estate, so he rode horse-back to the federal land office in Shawneetown, Illinois in 1840 and bought 640 acres at $1.25 per acre. The land he purchased started at the north-south bound railroad tracks that parallel Court Street and ran west to about where the Interstate is located. Because of his foresight and the ingenuity of several of his sons, the family did very well. Continue reading →