Marion 1926 New Construction

In 1926 Marion was still trying to rebuilt and update the businesses on South Main Street after the fire of 1919 and 1921 which burned out all the businesses from the Marion Bank (People's Bank) to the Masonic Lodge building.

Oct. 16, 1925.  Announcement was made that Boston and Sons had been contracted to build a new two story business house on the lot adjoining the present Temple building and also a two story building on the lot to the rear of the same property facing Bellville street.

The architecture of the building will be conformity with the present building, making it have the appearance of only one building when the work in complete.  (this new building would later be the home of the City Drug Store). 

This building will not only mark the closing up the vacant area devastated by the fires of June 1919 and 1921, but the new building facing Bellville street will be an entirely new improvement.  No building of any consequence ever being located there.  

This a picture made in 1926 of the new building constructed on the right.  It was built for a new grocery store run by D. B. Moore.  (would later be the home of the City Drug Store.)

The new rear addition of the Masonic Hall was for The Crittenden Press, you can barely make out the name on the building and George Travis, the photographer, would have his shop on the second floor of the building.

A Spring Of Diamonds

One of my favorite topics of our past history is the wonderful story of The Crittenden Springs and Hotel.  This interesting little article and picture appeared in a special 1902 Illustrated Edition of The Crittenden Press.  (used with permission).  This special edition was promoting the fluor spar and mineral  industry in our county and some other important points of interest at the time.  

I day dream of what it was like to stay at this wonderful place and enjoy the beauty of the Hotel and the scenic countryside when it was at its height of popularity in the early 1900's.

A lordly old style, four-storied, veranda bound, Southern hostelry.  A bounteous Kentucky hospitality, lavishly bestowed on the guests at that delightful Crittenden Spring hotel.

Great big waxed floors for the promenade, the musicals, the dance or social parties.

Forests of oak and maple and sycamores cover the great area of land comprising the estate.  Situated on a plateau overlooking a beautiful valley, with the grand views of the forest, the mountain and the mineral mines.

A spring of health giving water, sparkling as with diamonds.

Melancholy gives way to laughter, crutches to dancing, plainness to beauty.  It is a life giving spring.

Special traveling rates are made from all stations on the Illinois Central Railroad to the welcoming, open doors of the hotel.

Hotel  rates are more than moderate.  The address is Mr. John Wilson, Marion, Kentucky

( I would like to book mine today, please)

The Great Riley Mine

At one time, especially in the early 1900's, Crittenden County had numerous fluor spar, zinc and lead mines.  They were especially many located all along one of the faults that went through southern Crittenden County.  One of them of the Riley Mine.  Here is an interested article that appeared in The Crittenden Press, June 29, 1905 (used with permission)

Located three miles west of Frances on Claylick Creek was the Riley Mine. From the archives of The Crittenden Press let's read about the new Riley mine just being finished in 1905. June 29, 1905 -The Great Riley Mine.

A scene of activity and life, with a shaft 174 feet deep and fine mineral being taken out, lead 98 per cent pure.

Very few people of Marion are aware that one of the best-concentrated zinc plants in this country is in two hours ride by buggy of this city. Scarcely a dozen miles to the southwest of Marion on the borders of this county, with only a creek intervening between it and our rich sister county of Livingston lies the Marion Zinc Company's Riley mine.

The concentrating plant is on an eminence several hundred feet above the territory surrounding it and here the shaft, 174 feet deep has been sunk, and around about it has been erected a plant the equal of any in America.

No money has been spared in the selection of the equipment. In the boiler and engine room, which covers an area of 50 feet long, 40 feet wide, 2 great steam boilers of 200 horse power capacity have been placed and their stacks reach high in the air and can be seen for miles around. They are of the best make obtainable, one being built by the John H. Bass Foundry Co., of Ft. Wayne, the other big boiler and the 80 h.p. engine were built by the Brownell Co., Dayton, Ohio. It seems to have been the aim of the management to get the best of everything.

One hoisting engine is the elevator of the Freeman pattern; another in the foundry is of the Fairbanks Morse type. The three crushers and boilers were built at Cartersville, Mo.

The shaft is a double compartment 174 feet deep, 8x12 feet, one of which is used for the ladder, pump and steam pipe for running mining drills, two of which are in the shaft and are of the Sullivan type, the best known for deep mining. The hoisting plant is 75 feet above ground.

The heavy timbers used in holding the elevator and in lining the shaft look as if they were put there to last a generation, all the work shows plainly it was put there for permanency; nothing cheap or secondary has been used in the construction.

The plant also has a workshop 25 feet square equipped with all kind of machinery necessary for repairing and putting in mining machinery.

One feature of the plant is the reservoirs, two of which are located at the mill on the hill, and one in the creek with a depth of 9 feet, which the two steam pumps throw the water to the reservoirs on the hill.

At present hundred of tons of ore rough, are on the dumps and many tons of crushed ore and concentrates.

Mott City

Although the name might they you this was a large place, but it is only a small area on the highway about seven miles from Marion at the junction of Hwy 641 and S. R. 70.

 Mott City started about 1928-29 when Mr. Elmer Mott purchased the store that was there and added 12 more feet. 

The first person to call the place "Mott City" was an old gentleman by the name of Dick Cruce, who lived on the other side of Crayne.  At the time there was only four old houses in the area.  I thought it should be just called Mottsville, but the name "Mott City" stuck (and has for all these years, even today August 2014, it is Mott City and it's even on our county maps)

In 1932 Mr. Mott built the store you see in the picture.  There were gas pumps and a grease rack on the side of the store.  Standard Oil was my gas supplier.  When the fluorspar mines were running we had a good business.

Later, my sons turned the store in to a lumber business and concrete business.  The business was known as Mott Lumber Company and they had a good business.

The store today is an antique store called the Picket Fence.