This photo shows Main Street in Marion before the 1894 fire. It also shows the original McDowell County Courthouse on the left with Mount Ida in the background. A building on the right side of the street has a sign for “liquor dealers.”
Editor’s note: This is the second part of a three-part series about the early history of Marion. It is written by Chuck Abernathy, former county manager who is now the director of the McDowell Economic Development Association and chairman of the Historic Carson House board. Miss Part One? Read it at mcdowellnews.com. With McDowell County legally formed and the land set aside, it was time to build a new town that would serve as the county seat.
This is the original McDowell County jail in Marion that was built in the 1840s and later destroyed in the great fire of 1894.
This photo, taken around 1908, shows the original courthouse after it was remodeled and made larger. The street, which was not yet paved, is being watered by a team of men and oxen.
This photo shows Main Street in Marion before the 1894 fire. It also shows the original McDowell County Courthouse on the left with Mount Ida in the background. A building on the right side of the street has a sign for “liquor dealers.”
This photo, taken around 1908, shows the original courthouse after it was remodeled and made larger. The street, which was not yet paved, is being watered by a team of men and oxen.
