Marion County Historical Society

10/15/2026

October 15 – In 1921, Greek immigrants August Polezoes and Andrew Loukes purchased Tender’s Candyland at 142 West Center Street from the Theofilis brothers. Opened in 1919, the store featured confectionary delights in addition to “Light Luncheons appreciated by busy folks who want but a bit of dainty good things to eat.” “Hot and toasty sandwiches” were available for pickup by calling “Phone No. 2007.” Partnerships with downtown theatres such as the Marion Theatre provided children attending specific matinee shows to a Chocolate Iceberg. In 1928, children from the Marion County Children’s Home were transported to Candyland for a Christmas party followed by a movie at the Palace Theatre. Coin-operated orchestrion music machines provided entertainment. In 1931, Valentine Day treats for sweethearts were available including Bitter Sweets at 85¢ a pound, candy hearts at 30¢, and red roses at $1.25 per dozen. The store relocated to 115 South Main Street in 1932.

America 250-OH: Marion is a community-wide commemoration of the nation's 250th anniversary, co-led by Marion Community Foundation and Marion Area Convention & Visitors Bureau to showcase the remarkable ways Marion has shaped the American story. Learn more at http://visitmarionohio.com

10/14/2026

October 14 – At the turn of the 20th century, the Werley Restaurant & Saloon on Hoyles Street on the west side of Marion was a popular destination. The location was convenient for many of the laborers working in the railroad yards and other industries in the area. Rooms for rent were available in the adjacent Werley Hotel. The White Pigeon and Gracie’s Place “entertainment resorts” were also nearby. In 1944, the hotel closed due to “Too Much Business, Too Little Help.” Carl Werley explained that he could not hire sufficient employees to operate the 45-room hotel and restaurant. Within a short time, the hotel and restaurant reopened featuring “chicken dinners on Sunday. Ladies invited.” In 1950, rooms were available for three dollars while Edna’s Restaurant offered “A Delicious Serving of French Fried Perch for Only 5¢ on Friday Night.” In 1976, the structures were razed.

America 250-OH: Marion is a community-wide commemoration of the nation's 250th anniversary, co-led by Marion Community Foundation and Marion Area Convention & Visitors Bureau to showcase the remarkable ways Marion has shaped the American story. Learn more at http://visitmarionohio.com

10/13/2026

October 13 – The Hotel Marion opened in 1883 at the former site of Eber Baker’s Mansion House at the southwest corner of State and Center Streets. Originally three stories tall, a fourth floor was added in 1920 due to the influx of out-of-town visitors drawn to Marion by the Front Porch Campaign of presidential candidate Warren G. Harding. The hotel had 85 rooms including parlors and lounges and a 100-barrel water tank to provide “soft water” to the hotel’s guests. It was advertised as the “Leading Hostelry of the City, centrally located on electric lines and convenient to railroad stations.” Guests could choose from the American Plan of lodging (which included meals) or the European Plan (which did not.) The hotel was popular with artists performing in Marion theatres including the Grande Opera House located a half-block away. Among the noted performers who lodged there were John and Lionel Barrymore, John Phillip Sousa, and the Royal Italian Band. After falling into disrepair, the structure was razed for use as a parking lot.

America 250-OH: Marion is a community-wide commemoration of the nation's 250th anniversary, co-led by Marion Community Foundation and Marion Area Convention & Visitors Bureau to showcase the remarkable ways Marion has shaped the American story. Learn more at http://visitmarionohio.com

10/12/2026

October 12 - The Pilgrim Inn, located adjacent to the Marion County Courthouse in the former Kerr House Hotel, offered an enticing menu for Thanksgiving Day in 1908. Among the choices were oyster cocktails, boiled capon, roast domestic duck, crushed potatoes, fried parsnips, Malaga grapes, and saltines. George Lippincott was the proprietor of the Inn with Charles F. Smith as the manager. George Minard was in charge of the cigar counter and pool room. The Pilgrim Inn later became the Milner Hotel and then the Taft Hotel. It was razed in 1969 for intended use as space for an addition to the Marion County Courthouse. The addition was never built with the site now used as a parking lot.

America 250-OH: Marion is a community-wide commemoration of the nation's 250th anniversary, co-led by and to showcase the remarkable ways Marion has shaped the American story. Learn more at http://visitmarionohio.com

10/11/2026

October 11 – Samuel Abel and Charles Coonrod, saloon and restaurant owners in downtown Marion in the early 1900s, had their fair share of interesting incidents. In 1902, two brothers started a brawl in the saloon but “had their faces punched and were thrown out.” When they tried to press charges, the mayor refused to hear them as he had been in the bar at the time of the scuffle. Another incident involved the restaurant hosting a “roast made up of nearly a hundred quail and twenty-five rabbits” during which a “stranger stepped into the place, grabbed a whole rabbit, and started to run out with it.” One of the employees stopped the thief “with a tremendous punch to the jaw.” Not all of the establishment’s events ended in fisticuffs as evidenced by a pool tournament held in 1907 when “Carl Seaholm, the one-armed champion” took on “Kid” Adler of Columbus. Seaholm emerged as the victor winning the contest by a score of 135 to 88. The proprietors had numerous run-ins with law enforcement including an occasion when a wh***ey barrel was found to be filled not with illegal alcohol but with “the trophies of the hooks of Marion fisherman.” Following a law suit involving an accidental death in one of their establishments, the partners declared bankruptcy in 1916.

America 250-OH: Marion is a community-wide commemoration of the nation's 250th anniversary, co-led by Marion Community Foundation and Marion Area Convention & Visitors Bureau to showcase the remarkable ways Marion has shaped the American story. Learn more at http://visitmarionohio.com

10/10/2026

October 10 – “Govern Yourself Accordingly” read the headline of an article in an 1877 issues of the Marion Daily Star. The article went on to clarify a resolution passed by the village council relating to “bartering and trading on Sunday” as it applied to alcohol. The ordnance stated that “If any tavern-keeper or other person engaged in the business of trading, bartering, selling, or buying any goods, wares, merchandise, spirituous liquors, ale, b**r, w**e, or c***r on the first day of the week, commonly called Sunday, such tavern-keeper or other person so offending shall be fined in any sum not exceeding fifty-dollars and the cost of prosecution provided that nothing herein construed to extend to works of necessity of charity, not those who conscientiously do observe the seventh day of the week as Sabbath.”

America 250-OH: Marion is a community-wide commemoration of the nation's 250th anniversary, co-led by Marion Community Foundation and Marion Area Convention & Visitors Bureau to showcase the remarkable ways Marion has shaped the American story. Learn more at http://visitmarionohio.com

10/09/2026

October 9 – In 1914, the Marion Daily Star published a 16-page Progress Edition. Among the topics was a review of the number of retail establishments in the city of Marion. The 73 grocery stores and 19 meat dealers sold more than 60,000 loaves of bread, 8,500 dozen eggs, and 5,500 gallons of milk weekly. There were 70 building contractors, 50 dressmakers, 40 physicians, 12 dentists, 11 drugstores, and 4 undertakers. Services were provided by 25 attorneys, 26 insurance agencies, and 23 real estate agencies among numerous other retail establishments. The 39 saloons shown in the count numbered 8 less than the number of liquor licenses available.

America 250-OH: Marion is a community-wide commemoration of the nation's 250th anniversary, co-led by Marion Community Foundation and Marion Area Convention & Visitors Bureau to showcase the remarkable ways Marion has shaped the American story. Learn more at http://visitmarionohio.com

10/08/2026

October 8 – In 1935, W. Hoover Brown made a life-changing decision when he planted 27 acres of popcorn on his family farm in Wyandot County. That decision led to the creation of a company that 45 years later would export popcorn to 50 countries around the world and have a 21% share of the world’s raw popcorn market. Brown established the Wyandot Popcorn Company in 1936 with a production facility located in a former one-room schoolhouse he had attended as a child. The business flourished resulting in various expansions. In 1948, the Popped-Right Company was incorporated. Two years later, Golden Crisp caramel corn was introduced utilizing an old-fashioned kettle method and with the assistance of Marion candy maker Bert Shirk. In 1963, a modern processing plant was erected on Wyandot Avenue. In addition to popcorn, Wyandot Snacks produces puffed snacks, tortilla chips, and corn chips. In 2025, the company announced a $7.7 million dollar plant modernization project with expectations of having more than 330 employees.

America 250-OH: Marion is a community-wide commemoration of the nation's 250th anniversary, co-led by Marion Community Foundation and Marion Area Convention & Visitors Bureau to showcase the remarkable ways Marion has shaped the American story. Learn more at http://visitmarionohio.com

10/07/2026

Have you ever thought, I wish I could travel back in time? While MCHS does not have a time machine, we do our best to make you feel like you have stepped back in time.
For the last 16 years, on the first Saturday in November, the Marion County Historical Society has brought the stories of our past Presidents and First Ladies to life at "Dinner with the Presidents." This year will be no exception! Join us as you dine and mingle with past Presidents, Former First Ladies, and other special guests.
If you would like to join us on Saturday, November 7, at 4:30 p.m. at All Occasions Catering, 6989 Waldo-Delaware Rd, Waldo, OH 43356, you can get your ticket by calling Heritage Hall at 740-387-4255 or online at https://www.marionhistory.com/product/dinner-with-the-presidents-general-seating/
The event is ADVANCE TICKET SALES ONLY! You'll need to purchase tickets by Friday, October 16, 2026. We offer VIP Seating with a President for $45 and General Seating for $40.

Dinner with the Presidents-General Seating Ticket. Please include your name, address, email and phone so we may contact you should there be any event changes. Click here for event details.

10/07/2026

October 7 – While modern combines routinely pick and shell more than 7,000 bushels of corn in an hour, that was certainly not the case in 1932 when mechanical corn pickers were in the early stages of development. The cutting, shocking, and husking of corn was still done largely by hand. Perhaps in an effort to overcome the boredom associated with the very repetitive tasks, contests were developed to see how quickly corn could be husked. In Marion County, Earl Spiece of Kirkpatrick was crowned county champion when he husked 16 bushels in the 80 minutes permitted by contest rules. With his victory, Spiece advanced to the state contest. Unfortunately, his efforts there were not successful. The national husking contest, held in Illinois, saw a new world record established when Carl Seller husked 36.9 bushels. The popularity of the husking contests reached new heights in 1938 when more than 100,000 spectators watched Minnesota farmer Ted Balko take home the championship with his 22-bushel effort. While Balko was pleased with his success, he remarked that even though he was the champion he still had nearly 4,000 bushels waiting to be picked and husked on his farm.

America 250-OH: Marion is a community-wide commemoration of the nation's 250th anniversary, co-led by Marion Community Foundation and Marion Area Convention & Visitors Bureau to showcase the remarkable ways Marion has shaped the American story. Learn more at http://visitmarionohio.com