The story
Read it all →How Marion came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Marion.
Indigenous nations that have been in this region for a very long time include:
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
A−History
History · Marion
Marion dates to 1839, and 13% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 81% of U.S. towns · #170 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it
5 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district with 7 buildings. Below: 6 old photos and papers, maps from 1925 on, and the census since 1880.
1839founded
5on the National Register
13%homes built before 1940
6old photos & papers
16famous people
Quick answers
How Marion began
When was Marion founded?
1839
Marion dates its founding to 1839 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.
First census: 881 in 18802020 census: 16,855187 years
How historic is Marion?
A−
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 81% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1837.The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Marion’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Marion is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #170 of 768 in Illinois. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its National Register listings ranks highest and its share of homes from before 1940 lowest.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Marion’s overall grade.
Founding era1839, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194012.6% of homes (±3.0) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%B−National Register5 listings, 11 historic buildings, 6.5 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 81%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 78%
Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Marion’s 6.5 sits above most of its state (78% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 11 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.0 points). Two sources give 1839.
Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Marion’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Lost villages1 post office opened and closed inside today’s Marion, and 6 old place names are still on the map.Deep rootsEstablished in 1839: 187 years of Marion.Landmarks on the Register5 places on the National Register.Famous sons and daughtersEdward E. Denison, Ray Fosse and 14 more were born here.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be
Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds
Marion’s post office has been open since 1840. Another post office, Bainbridge, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Bainbridge
Marion
18301930today
Hamlets and corners on the map
BainbridgeBill Butler Mobile Home ParkJuanitas Mobile Home ParkKay - Lou Trailer CourtsMarion Mobile Home VillageWilliams Trailer Court
Gone or out of use
Douglas SchoolschoolMission Ridge SchoolschoolOrpheum TheaterbuildingWashington Schoolschool
6cemeteries and burying grounds inside Marion
CampgroundIndependent Order of OddfellowsMaplewoodMcAlpinPerryRose Hill
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Timeline
Marion, 1837 to 1947
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1837Post officeThe Bainbridge post office opens
- 1839FoundingMarion is established
- 1840Post officeThe Marion post office opens
- 1873
Born hereEdward E. Denison is born here - 1880
In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Williamson County - Marion - ED 100-27… - 1881Post officeThe Bainbridge post office closes
- 1896
In the archiveGreetings from Marion, Illinois - 20th century
- 1905
Born hereGeorge Evan Howell is born here - 1910
In the archiveSo. Illinois Retail Lumber Dealers Convention, Marion, Ill., Jan. 20, 1910 - 1925
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 1927Born hereRobert L. Butler is born here
- 1947
Born hereRay Fosse is born here
On the National Register
5 historic places in Marion
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
5
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
11
each building in a district counts
first listed
1982
Willis Allen House
BuildingsDistricts
Architectural styles listings
Prairie School2
Italianate1
Neo-Gothic Style1
Craftsman1
Egyptian Revival1
Willis Allen HouseItalianate
Goddard ChapelNeo-Gothic Style
Ed. M. Stotlar HouseCraftsman
Williamson County JailPrairie School
Marion Veterans Administration Hospital Historic DistrictEgyptian Revival
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
By decade
Marion, decade by decade
3 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1910s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1880s–1910s6 items
1880
1910
19101920s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your albumOn the map
Marion on the map, 1925 to 1990
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Marion. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1925Marion sheet · 1:62,500U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Marion.
Then & now
Stand where they stood
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.
Retake this view1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Williamson County - Marion - ED 100-27 - ED 100-35, 1880
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Marion’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Marion, census by census
Between 881 and 17,193 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Marion’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →16 famous people were born in Marion
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Help out
Finish Marion’s story
Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.Questions about Marion’s history
What year was Marion founded?
In 1839, according to Wikidata. Marion’s post office opened in 1837, and the census of 1880 counted 881 people here.
How does Marion rank for history?
Marion is more historic than 81% of U.S. towns, #170 of 768 in Illinois. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Marion?
5 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Willis Allen House (listed 1982, the first), and 1 historic district, the Marion Veterans Administration Hospital Historic District, with 7 contributing buildings. 11 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Marion?
13% of Marion’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.0 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1981.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Start a conversation
Sources
Where this page comes from
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (3), the Library of Congress (3), the National Register of Historic Places (5), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.