Marion, Illinois

City: Marion

County: Williamson

State: Illinois

Lat/Long: 37.7167, -88.9167

Marion, Illinois, is a city and the county seat of Williamson County, Illinois. Marion is located in southern Illinois, forty-five miles south of Mount Vernon. Following the establishment of Williamson County by the Illinois General Assembly, commissioners appointed to locate a county seat began searching for a location near the center of the county. They selected a site east of Bainbridge and named it Marion. In October 1839, proprietors platted the town. The U.S. Post Office Department established a post office in Marion on January 30, 1840. The General Assembly incorporated Marion as a town in February 1841. In February 1847, the General Assembly repealed the act of incorporation. The General Assembly chartered Marion as a town again in February 1865.

Webster's New Geographical Dictionary (Springfield, MA: Merriam-Webster, 1988), 731; James N. Adams, comp., Illinois Place Names (Springfield: Illinois State Historical Society, 1989), 431; History of Gallatin, Saline, Hamilton, Franklin and Williamson Counties, Illinois (Chicago: Goodspeed, 1887), 450-53; A Bill to Establish the County of Williamson; An Act to Establish the County of Williamson; Fragment of “A Bill to Incorporate the Town of Marion”; An Act to Incorporate the Town of Marion; “An Act to Repeal the Act Incorporating the Town of Marion,” 15 February 1847, Private Laws of Illinois (1847), 81; “An Act to Incorporate the town of Marion, in the County of Williamson,” 16 February 1865, Private Laws of Illinois (1865), 2:498-507.