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Marion County, Illinois
Marion County, located near the center of the
southern half of Illinois, was organized in 1823 and named after Francis
Marion, a soldier of the Revolution who distinguished himself as a
partisan commander in the Carolinas. The largest town is Centralia, which
was founded in 1853 by the Illinois Central Railroad’s passage through the
area.
Centralia is no longer a railroad community, although more than 60
trains still pass through it daily.
The county seat is
Salem,
which has a rich and varied history itself. The city is home to William
Jennings Bryan, who was known as “The Great Commoner” and “The
Silver-Tongued Orator.” He became famous at 1896 Chicago Democratic Party
convention when he exclaimed, “You shall not crucify the working man upon
a cross of gold!”
Bryan was born in Salem on March 19, 1860. His boyhood home is now a
museum. He left Salem to study law at age 15 and never lived there again,
but visited often. Bryan later was a prosecutor in the famous 1925 Scopes
“Monkey Trial,” in which a young biology teacher, John Thomas Scopes (also
from Salem), was indicted for teaching evolution in the Dayton, Tennessee,
High School. A bronze likeness of Bryan stands in Salem’s Bryan Memorial
Park.
Salem is also home of the G.I. Bill of Rights, born in an American Legion
Post in the city, and signed into law by President Franklin D. Roosevelt
in 1943. And it wouldn’t be fair not to mention this bit of Salem lore:
Max Crossett’s Café was known for a tasty condiment called Max’s “X-tra
Fine Salad Dressing.” In 1931, Kraft Foods bought the recipe for $300, and
renamed it Miracle Whip.
Some of Marion County’s assets: Kaskaskia College in Centralia; the
Kaskaskia River and Stephen A. Forbes State Park near Omega.
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