Marion is a city in and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...
of
Perry County, Alabama, United States.
As of the 2010 census, the population of the city is 3,686, up 4.8% over 2000. First known as Muckle Ridge, the city was renamed for a hero of the American Revolution,
Francis Marion
Brigadier general (United States), Brigadier General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the "Swamp Fox", was an American military officer, planter, and politician who served during the French and Indian War and t ...
.
Two colleges,
Judson College (Alabama)
Judson College was a Private college, private Women's Colleges in the Southern United States, women's college in Marion, Alabama. It was founded in 1838 and suspended its academic operations on July 31, 2021.
History
Judson College was foun ...
and
Marion Military Institute
Marion Military Institute, the Military College of Alabama, (MMI, sometimes Marion Institute, Marion Military, or simply Marion) is a Public college, public military junior college in Marion, Alabama. Founded in 1842, it is the official state mi ...
, are located in Marion. This is noted in the city's welcome sign referring to Marion as "The College City".
History
Early history
Formerly the territory of the
Creek Indians, Marion was founded shortly after 1819 as Muckle Ridge. In 1822 the city was renamed in honor of
Francis Marion
Brigadier general (United States), Brigadier General Francis Marion ( 1732 – February 27, 1795), also known as the "Swamp Fox", was an American military officer, planter, and politician who served during the French and Indian War and t ...
, the "Swamp Fox," hero of the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
. Marion incorporated as a town the same year and later became Perry County's second county seat as the hamlet of Perry Ridge was deemed unsuitable. In 1829 it upgraded from a town to a city. The old City Hall (1832) is but one of many antebellum public buildings, churches, and homes in the city today.
General
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...
, while between terms as 1st and 3rd president of the
Republic of Texas
The Republic of Texas (), or simply Texas, was a country in North America that existed for close to 10 years, from March 2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. Texas shared borders with Centralist Republic of Mexico, the Republic of the Rio Grande, an ...
, married
Margaret Lea of Marion in the city in 1840.
At the 1844 meeting of the Alabama Baptist State Convention in Marion, the "Alabama Resolutions" were passed. This was one of the factors that led to the 1845 formation of the
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...
in Augusta, Georgia.
Founding of colleges
Judson College, a private, Baptist college for women, was founded in 1838 and closed July 31, 2021.
Marion Military Institute
Marion Military Institute, the Military College of Alabama, (MMI, sometimes Marion Institute, Marion Military, or simply Marion) is a Public college, public military junior college in Marion, Alabama. Founded in 1842, it is the official state mi ...
was founded in 1887.
Howard College, initially the location of the current Marion Military Institute, was founded in Marion in 1841, and moved to
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...
in 1887, later becoming
Samford University
Samford University is a Private university, private Christian university in Homewood, Alabama, United States. It was founded by Baptist Church, Baptists in 1841 as Howard College and located until 1887 in Marion, Alabama. It is governed by an in ...
.
A groundbreaking school for
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
s, the
Lincoln Normal School, was founded here in 1867.
The associated Lincoln Normal University for Teachers moved to
Montgomery and became
Alabama State University. In 1889, Marion Military Institute was chartered by the State of Alabama and today is the oldest military junior college in the nation.
Pre-Civil War
In December 1857,
Andrew Barry Moore (1807–1873) of Marion was elected the sixteenth governor of Alabama (1857–1861). He served one term, presiding over Alabama's secession from the Union. Assisting in the war effort, Moore was imprisoned a short time after the war and in ill health returned to Marion, where he died eight years later.
George Doherty Johnson (May 30, 1832 – December 8, 1910) served as mayor of Marion in 1856, state legislator from 1857 to 1858 and rose to the rank of
brigadier general in the
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army (CSA), also called the Confederate army or the Southern army, was the Military forces of the Confederate States, military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) duri ...
in the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
.
Civil War era
Nicola Marschall
Nicola Marschall (March 16, 1829 – February 24, 1917) was a German-American artist who supported the Confederate States of America, Confederate cause during the American Civil War. He designed the original Confederate flag, the Flags of t ...
(1829–1917), a German-American artist, is generally credited with designing both the first official Confederate flag and the grey Confederate army uniform while a teacher at the old
Marion Female Seminary. With the coming Civil War in 1861, Nicola Marschall was approached in February by Mary Clay Lockett, wife of prominent attorney Napoleon Lockett of Marion, and her daughter, Fannie Lockett Moore, daughter-in-law of Alabama Governor
Andrew B. Moore of Marion, to design a flag for the new Confederacy. Marschall offered three designs, one of which became the "Stars and Bars," the first official flag of the Confederate States of America (C.S.A.), first raised in Montgomery, Alabama, on March 4, 1861.
Early 20th century
At the turn of the century in 1900,
Perry County peaked in population at 31,783. This is three times the population of the county in the 2010 census.
Hal Kemp
James Hal Kemp (March 27, 1904 – December 21, 1940) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, composer, and arranger.
Biography
Hal Kemp was born in Marion, Alabama. He formed his first band in high school, and by the ...
, a jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, composer and arranger was born in Marion in 1904 and died in Madera, California, following an auto accident in 1940. His band was very popular from 1934 until 1939. Major recordings in 1936 include
"
There's a Small Hotel
"There's a Small Hotel" is a 1936 song composed by Richard Rodgers, with lyrics by Lorenz Hart. Originally written for but dropped from the musical ''Billy Rose's Jumbo'' (1935), it was used in ''On Your Toes'' (1936), where it was introduced by R ...
" and "When I'm With You" both number one hits for two weeks. In 1937, his number one hits were "
This Year's Kisses", which was number one for four weeks, and "
Where or When", number one for one week. Other noted recordings were "Got a Date With an Angel" and "Three Little Fishies". In 1992, Hal Kemp was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame.
Coretta Scott King, wife of Reverend Dr.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
, was born in Marion in 1927 and spent her childhood there. She graduated from
Lincoln Normal School as valedictorian in 1945. The couple got married on the front lawn of her mother's home north of Marion in 1953.
Civil Rights era
A number of significant events occurred in Marion relating to the
Civil Rights Movement. In 1958
Jimmy Wilson, a black man, was sentenced to death by a jury in Marion for stealing $1.95 from Estelle Barker. Wilson's case became an international
cause célèbre
A ( , ; pl. ''causes célèbres'', pronounced like the singular) is an issue or incident arousing widespread controversy, outside campaigning, and heated public debate. The term is sometimes used positively for celebrated legal cases for th ...
, covered in newspapers worldwide and inspiring over 1000 letters per day to the office of governor
Jim Folsom. Finally, after the
Alabama Supreme Court upheld Wilson's conviction, at the urging of the
Congress of Racial Equality
The Congress of Racial Equality (CORE) is an African-American civil rights organization in the United States that played a pivotal role for African Americans in the civil rights movement. Founded in 1942, its stated mission is "to bring about ...
, Secretary of State
John Foster Dulles
John Foster Dulles (February 25, 1888 – May 24, 1959) was an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat who served as United States secretary of state under President Dwight D. Eisenhower from 1953 until his resignation in 1959. A member of the ...
wrote to Folsom explaining the damage that the case was doing to the international reputation of the United States and Folsom quickly granted Wilson
clemency
A pardon is a government decision to allow a person to be relieved of some or all of the legal consequences resulting from a criminal conviction. A pardon may be granted before or after conviction for the crime, depending on the laws of the j ...
.
In 1964, Marion was a center of civil rights protests in Alabama. During a
Southern Christian Leadership Conference
The Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) is an African Americans, African-American civil rights organization based in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. SCLC is closely associated with its first president, Martin Luther King Jr., ...
march on the evening of February 18, 1965, during the height of the Selma Voting Rights Movement, Marion resident
Jimmie Lee Jackson was shot and killed by Alabama State Trooper
James Bonard Fowler. These events were depicted in the movie ''
Selma'', released in 2014.
Jackson died on February 26 of an infection stemming from his wounds at nearby Good Samaritan Hospital in
Selma.
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
preached a sermon at Jackson's funeral on March 3, and Jackson's death is recognized as the catalyst for
James Bevel
James Luther Bevel (October 19, 1936 – December 19, 2008) was an American minister and a leader and major strategist of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement. As a member of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC), and then as its direct ...
to call and organize the first
Selma to Montgomery March on March 7.
It was not until 2007 that Fowler was indicted for murder for his role in Jackson's death.
In 2010, Fowler pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of manslaughter.
In 2018, the US Department of the Interior granted Beyond 50 Years – a community non-profit group in Marion – a $500,000.00 grant to convert the historic Perry County Jailhouse into a voting rights museum. The historic jailhouse was the location of
Reverend James Orange's incarceration, which sparked the 1965 march that resulted in the death of Jimmie Lee Jackson. The jail is currently under renovation for the conversion into a museum, however a grand opening date has not yet been announced.
Recent events
In 2009, Marion made national news when a three-year-old family feud turned into a 150-man riot outside the town's city hall resulting in the arrest of eight people and the hospitalization of two.
In early 2016, the ''New York Times'' reported the city was the center of an outbreak of
tuberculosis
Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...
. In 2014–15 twenty people in the area had contracted active cases of the disease and three had died.
Historical structures

Marion has many historic structures, with most listed on historic registers directly or as
contributing buildings
In the law regulating historic districts in the United States, a contributing property or contributing resource is any building, object, or structure which adds to the historical integrity or architectural qualities that make the historic dist ...
. The
Chapel and Lovelace Hall at Marion Military Institute,
First Congregational Church of Marion, the
Henry House,
Marion Female Seminary,
Phillips Memorial Auditorium,
President's House at Marion Institute,
Siloam Baptist Church are all individually listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
.
It has one
National Historic Landmark
A National Historic Landmark (NHL) is a National Register of Historic Places property types, building, district, object, site, or structure that is officially recognized by the Federal government of the United States, United States government f ...
,
Kenworthy Hall.
The city also has several historic districts, including the
Green Street Historic District,
Judson College Historic District,
Marion Courthouse Square Historic District, and
West Marion Historic District. Historic district buildings of special significance include examples such as
Reverie.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.94%) is water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the
2020 United States census, there were 3,176 people, 1,055 households, and 407 families residing in the city.
2010 census
As of the
census
A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 3,686 people, 1,184 households, and 819 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 1,418 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 63.9%
Black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 32.9%
White
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.26%
Native American, 0.09%
Asian, 0.09%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.26% from
other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. 1.9% of the population were
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race.
There were 1,184 households, out of which 31.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.8% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 25.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 28.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.17.
In the city, the population was spread out, with 27.5% under the age of 18, 15.7% from 18 to 24, 21.5% from 25 to 44, 18.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 30.7 years. For every 100 females, there were 80.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 72.9 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $24,142, and the median income for a family was $29,663. Males had a median income of $27,422 versus $20,240 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year.
In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the city was $11,934. About 28.4% of families and 33.4% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 51.3% of those under age 18 and 15.1% of those age 65 or over.
Notable people
*
Lee Cooke
Carlton Lee Cooke (born 1944) is an American politician and businessman who served as the 52nd mayor of Austin from 1988 to 1991. A member of the Republican Party, Cooke was described by ''The Austin Chronicle'' as a "business-booster".
Educa ...
, fifty-first
Mayor of Austin, Texas
*
Alexander H. Curtis (1829–1878),
Reconstruction era
The Reconstruction era was a period in History of the United States, US history that followed the American Civil War (1861-65) and was dominated by the legal, social, and political challenges of the Abolitionism in the United States, abol ...
Black politician; state legislator in the Alabama House of Representatives and the Alabama Senate
*
James Webb Curtis (1856–1921), Black physician, and volunteer military personnel in the
Spanish–American War
The Spanish–American War (April 21 – August 13, 1898) was fought between Restoration (Spain), Spain and the United States in 1898. It began with the sinking of the USS Maine (1889), USS ''Maine'' in Havana Harbor in Cuba, and resulted in the ...
*
Pauline E. Dinkins (1891–1961), Black physician born in Marion
*
T. J. Goree (1835–1905),
Confederate Lieutenant and aide to Lt. General
James Longstreet
James Longstreet (January 8, 1821January 2, 1904) was a General officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War and was the principal subordinate to General Robert E. Lee, who called him his "Old War Ho ...
*
Byron Gunner (1857–1922), American minister and activist; born and raised in Marion
*
Margaret Lea Houston (1819–1867), third wife of
Sam Houston
Samuel Houston (, ; March 2, 1793 – July 26, 1863) was an American general and statesman who played a prominent role in the Texas Revolution. He served as the first and third president of the Republic of Texas and was one of the first two indi ...
*
Jimmie Lee Jackson (1938–1965), civil rights activist whose shooting death by a state trooper inspired the
Selma to Montgomery marches
The Selma to Montgomery marches were three Demonstration (protest), protest marches, held in 1965, along the highway from Selma, Alabama, to the state capital of Montgomery, Alabama, Montgomery. The marches were organized by Nonviolence, nonvi ...
*
Hal Kemp
James Hal Kemp (March 27, 1904 – December 21, 1940) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, composer, and arranger.
Biography
Hal Kemp was born in Marion, Alabama. He formed his first band in high school, and by the ...
,
jazz
Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
bandleader
A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a dance band, rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhyth ...
, musician, arranger, and composer
*
Coretta Scott King (1927–2006), civil rights activist and wife of
Martin Luther King Jr.
Martin Luther King Jr. (born Michael King Jr.; January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) was an American Baptist minister, civil and political rights, civil rights activist and political philosopher who was a leader of the civil rights move ...
*
Porter King, thirty-fourth
Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia
*
Willie McClung (1930–2002), former
NFL offensive lineman
In gridiron football, a lineman is a player who specializes in play at the line of scrimmage. The linemen of the team currently in possession of the ball are the offensive line (OL), while linemen on the opposing team are the defensive line ( ...
*
Walthall M. Moore, politician and the first African American to serve in the
Missouri state legislature
*
Jimmy Wilson, robber whose case received national attention
References
External links
Alabama Women's Hall of FameAlabama Demographics web siteMarion Military Institute web siteCity of Marion Website*
{{authority control
*
Cities in Alabama
County seats in Alabama
Cities in Perry County, Alabama
1819 establishments in Alabama