Marlin, Texas
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Marlin is a city in Falls County,
Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...
, United States. Its population was 5,462 at the 2020 census. Since 1851, it has been 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 Falls County. Marlin has been given the nickname "The Hot Mineral Water City of Texas" by the 76th Texas State Legislature. Mineral water was discovered there in 1892.


History


Establishment and antebellum era (1851–1861)

The city of Marlin is located east of the
Brazos River The Brazos River ( , ), called the ''Río de los Brazos de Dios'' (translated as "The River of the Arms of God") by early Spanish explorers, is the 14th-longest river in the United States at from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater ...
, which runs through the center of the county. The low falls on the river southwest of present-day Marlin was the site of Sarahville de Viesca, established in 1834 by Sterling C. Robertson. The act of the state legislature creating Falls County that passed on January 28, 1850, established Viesca (renamed Fort Milam) as the county seat. Citizens petitioned to choose their own location and a vote was held on January 21, 1851, that established the county seat at Adams, near the home of Dr. Allensworth Adams. On March 22, 1851, the Falls County commissioners court voted to rename Adams the "Town of Marlin" to honor former Robertson County ''alcalde'' John Marlin. The new town of Marlin was laid out around a courthouse square and a log courthouse was constructed, which also served as a school and church. In 1854, a new courthouse was constructed for $5,000; it was painted white with dark green shutters and a chrome yellow door. In 1859, the population of Marlin was 2,875 whites, 1,225 slaves, and nine free blacks.


Schools


Early schools

The first schools in Falls County were private schools established at Marlin. A tuition school, Marlin Male and Female Academy, was located on Ward Street in 1871, north of the courthouse square. The school was renamed and relocated before finally being sold in 1886, only to be destroyed by fire in 1900. A new public brick school was constructed in 1903 and a high school was completed in 1917. The Marlin Independent School District was established in 1923. Nearly half a century before, in 1875, two other schools for African Americans were organized. The two black schools were dependent on state funds, and met in the African and Baptist churches. In 1916, the city council voted to build a school for blacks; later, the Booker T. Washington High School was constructed in 1951 on Commerce Street and designed by the architectural firm of Thomas, Jameson, and Merrill. This school remains standing, but is vacant. The two school districts merged in 1968 into the Marlin Independent School District (MISD). In 1900, the town's Jewish residents organized a
Sunday school ] A Sunday school, sometimes known as a Sabbath school, is an educational institution, usually Christianity, Christian in character and intended for children or neophytes. Sunday school classes usually precede a Sunday church service and are u ...
.


Modern schools

A high-school commencement ceremony in Texas was called off after the district found that only of five of 33 students were eligible to graduate, officials said Friday. Marlin HS, 30 miles southeast of Waco, had been set to pass out diplomas on Thursday May 26, 2023, before the MISD revealed that a number of pupils "did not meet requirements due to attendance or grades." In announcing the ceremony postponement, Superintendent Darryl Henson said that students in his district "will he held to the same high standard as any other student in Texas." "We maintain high expectations, not as an imposition, but as a show of faith in our students' abilities," Henson said in a statement to the community. Superintendent Henson and his staff audited student files this past weekend to find only five were eligible to graduate, district spokesperson Leah Wayne told NBC News on Friday. The ineligibility stemmed from a myriad of reasons, including failing grades, attendance, verification and documentation issues.


Reconstruction era (1865–1877)

The town of Marlin was formally incorporated by the state legislature on January 12, 1867. Two former slaves served as elected or appointed officials in Marlin: Nelson Denson and Lige Moore. The Houston and Texas Central Railway, Houston & Texas Central Railway reached Marlin on 1871 as a stop on the "Waco Tap" line that extended northwest from Bremond (Robertson County) to Waco. The location of the depot on the eastern side of the town led to the development of a commercial district eastward from the courthouse square along Live Oak Street. In 1875, the 1854 courthouse burned and a new brick courthouse was constructed. The courthouse was badly damaged in a storm in 1886 and replaced with a new structure designed by architect Eugene T. Heiner.


The mineral water era (1890s–1960s)

In 1891, the City of Marlin issued bonds worth $25,000 to drill an
artesian well An artesian well is a well that brings groundwater to the surface without pumping because it is under pressure within a body of rock or sediment known as an aquifer. When trapped water in an aquifer is surrounded by layers of Permeability (ea ...
. Hot mineral water was accidentally discovered and later alleged to have medicinal properties. To harness the potential benefit of these "healing waters", the first bath house was constructed in 1895, with several others to follow. A least two of those early houses had large swimming pools with ornate, covered buildings. Other bath houses were subsequently constructed that included individual bathing areas with marble tubs and cooling rooms with available massages for a full spa treatment. Thousands were soon attracted to Marlin to "take the cure." While Marlin had a number of small hotels in the 19th century, the construction of the three-story Arlington Hotel in 1895 demonstrated the economic impact and potential of the mineral-water industry. The hotel and adjacent bathhouse burned in January 1899, but were both replaced with more elaborate structures that opened in 1901. The new Arlington Hotel hosted notable community events and statewide conventions. Other than the Hilton and the numerous boarding houses (such as Captain Bourrupt's and the Harris Houses), the town had several other hotels, among them the Fannin, the Majestic, and the Imperial; most were on Coleman Street and within a few blocks of the public hot water fountain and the mineral water wells—on a sort of bath-house row. In 1929,
Conrad Hilton Conrad Nicholson Hilton (December 25, 1887 – January 3, 1979) was an American hotel magnate and politician who founded the Hilton Hotels chain. From 1912 to 1916, Hilton was a Republican representative in the first New Mexico Legislature ...
began construction of a
Hilton Hotel Hilton Hotels & Resorts (formerly known as Hilton Hotels) is a global brand of full-service hotels and resorts and the flagship brand of American multinational hospitality company Hilton Worldwide. The original company was founded by Conrad Hi ...
that was opened on May 27, 1930, at a cost of $375,000 and to which Marlin citizens and businesses contributed $50,000. The nine-floor, 110-room hotel remains the tallest building in Marlin and was built on Coleman Street across from the Marlin Sanitarium Bathhouse, which burned in the early 1990s. The hotel was connected to the bathhouse by a tunnel that has not been filled in, but is inaccessible. Mr. Hilton's first venture into the hotel business that featured several hotels in Cisco, Mineral Wells, El Paso, and Marlin were not successful, and Mr. Hilton sold those hotels in the 1930s. The Marlin Hilton was bought by the Moody’s of Galveston and later known as the Falls Hotel, then bought by the Smithwicks. It has been closed since the late 1960s as a hotel, but parts of the first floor have held small businesses-beauty shops, an optometrist's office, an insurance agency, and restaurants. One such restaurant, the Cactus, occupied its space for about 10 years until about 2016. For many years, the first-floor ballroom also featured class reunions and school dances, as well as public outside auction house usages. None of those businesses occupy the hotel at present. The hotel structure still stands, but is unoccupied. In recent years, sporadic renovations have occurred. Along with the decline of the hot mineral water industry after World War II and the advent of penicillin, many of the bath-house-related businesses closed and those older structures were gradually demolished or reconfigured. Most of the remnants of the bath-house businesses had closed by the late 1960s. In the early 1980s, a short-lived revival arose with some new bathing structures that did not succeed, and neither did one other attempt at that industry's revitalization in that 1990s. Only the Buie-Allen Hospital (''circa'' 1912), now closed, and a very few former boarding houses remain as apartments, as well as some of the intact late 19th-century commercial district and numerous early 20th-century residences constructed by doctors and many others who served the bath-house clientele. Hot mineral water can still usually be obtained from a fountain outside the Marlin Chamber of Commerce in the 1929 pavilion when the city maintains that access. The former location of one of the several bath houses, the Sanitarium Bath House (burned down by accidental arson), is now a small city park featuring a gazebo that is adjacent to the old Houston and Texas Central railroad tracks. Those tracks are currently owned by the
Union Pacific Railroad The Union Pacific Railroad is a Railroad classes, Class I freight-hauling railroad that operates 8,300 locomotives over routes in 23 U.S. states west of Chicago and New Orleans. Union Pacific is the second largest railroad in the United Stat ...
. The waters remain and at least three wells are still active, but not accessible. The local three-story Falls Community Hospital has heated (as of the 1980s) its structure via the mineral water. The active Falls County Historical Commission has an extensive museum. Adjacent to the museum is a lively, active theater group, the Palace Theatre, that features plays and dinner-house productions, as well as occasional outside professional entertainment.


Marlin sports


Marlin spring training (1904–1918)

Marlin's mild climate, hot mineral water baths, and proximity by train to Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio made it an appealing
spring training Spring training, also called spring camp, is the preseason of the Summer Professional Baseball Leagues, such as Major League Baseball (MLB), and it is a series of practices and exhibition games preceding the start of the regular season. Spri ...
location for
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...
teams. Four different teams trained in Marlin from 1904 to 1918: Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Cincinnati Reds, and New York Giants. Players stayed at the Arlington Hotel, which is no longer standing. In the same era, Marlin was home to
minor league baseball Minor League Baseball (MiLB) is a professional baseball organization below Major League Baseball (MLB), constituted of teams affiliated with MLB clubs. It was founded on September 5, 1901, in response to the growing dominance of the National Le ...
. The Marlin Marlins (1916–1917) and Marlin Bathers (1923–1925) played as members of the Class D level Central Texas League and Texas Association.


Chicago White Sox (1904)

The
Chicago White Sox The Chicago White Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The White Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. The club plays its ...
baseball team visited "Marlin Springs" from March 7 to March 17, 1904, as part of their spring training tour of the South. The team's selection of Marlin can be credited to Ted Sullivan. The ''Chicago Tribune'' quoted Sullivan in an article published on February 7, 1904: "If I had looked the United States over for a spring training ground for a ball club, I do not believe I could have found a spot I would pick ahead of Marlin Springs ... harles Comiskey asked me last December when I was coming to Texas to pick him out a place to train. I met a man in Dallas, who told me he left his crutches at Marlin; that he went there suffering with rheumatism. I took a run down to Marlin ... and I found the ideal spot for training grounds. The place has a magnificent hotel. Adjoining this place is a beautiful natatorium equipped with hot sulphur and all kinds of baths... The ball grounds here are on even surface and are only four blocks from the hotel. This is the spot I selected for the Chicago American league club..." The White Sox left Marlin on March 17 "with expressions of regret and of hope that its individuals will be with the White Sox next spring when they return here for a similar stay." Among those on the White Sox who trained in Marlin was George Davis. On the last full day (March 16), Manager Nixey Callahan had the team make a ten-mile round trip walk to the Brazos River after dinner.


St. Louis Cardinals (1905)

The St. Louis Cardinals chose "Marlin Springs" as their 1905 spring training site after delays in preparations of a site in Houston. As a result, the Chicago White Sox chose to train in New Orleans. The Cardinals arrived in Marlin on March 6, 1905 and "a large gathering of local fans
ere Ere or ERE may refer to: * ''Environmental and Resource Economics'', a peer-reviewed academic journal * ERE Informatique, one of the first French video game companies * Ere language, an Austronesian language * Ebi Ere (born 1981), American-Nigeria ...
on hand to welcome the big leaguers." Visits to the hot mineral water baths were a part of the team's daily routine. A St. Louis newspaper reported that " racticeends at 4 o'clock and the players get to the bath about 15 minutes later. The baths are hot, and it takes until 5 before the players are cooled off enough to go to the hotel, which is but a couple of steps distant. The baths not only put the players in first-class condition and remove any surplus weight, but they also tend to prevent soreness." The Cardinals broke camp at Marlin on March 17, 1905.


Cincinnati Reds (1906–1907)

The
Cincinnati Reds The Cincinnati Reds are an American professional baseball team based in Cincinnati. The Reds compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Divisi ...
baseball team held spring training in Marlin in 1906 and 1907.


New York Giants (1908–1918)

The
New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...
baseball team held spring training in Marlin from 1908 to 1918.


Modern utilities

Telephones began appearing in households in Marlin in 1900. Automobiles, electricity, and Lone Star Gas followed shortly. By the mid-1900s, Marlin had a bottling company, stock pens, a brickyard, a turkey-processing plant (the building can still be seen on Williams Street/South Business Highway 6), a saddlery, a water crystallization plant, and a pottery plant.


Modern history


The 2000s

The loss of major employers in the late 20th and early 21st centuries resulted in a loss of population and a reduction in the city's tax base. While at the census in 2000, Marlin had a population of 6,628 (a modest increase of 242 people from 1990), by 2010, its population had declined to 5,967 residents. According to the US and Texas census, Marlin's largest population peaked at two times in its history, 1950 and 1980, with 7009 being its highest. First to change hands or close was the Swift turkey-processing plant. Next was Marlin Mills, a carpet-manufacturing company, closed during the 1980s economic decline. A
styrofoam Styrofoam is a brand of closed-cell extruded polystyrene foam (XPS), manufactured to provide continuous building insulation board used in walls, roofs, and foundations as thermal insulation and as a water barrier. This material is light blue in ...
company, open in another building in Marlin's
industrial park An industrial park, also known as industrial estate or trading estate, is an area zoned and planned for the purpose of industrial development. An industrial park can be thought of as a more heavyweight version of a business park or office par ...
, caught fire and the remains were demolished. A dress-manufacturing plant, which catered to large businesses, such as the airline industry, closed. Wallace, a business form-printing company5 employing hundreds, closed in the mid-2000s. In the early 2000s, 1100 small to medium-sized VA hospitals closed all over the US, one of which was the Thomas T. Connally
Veterans Affairs Hospital Veterans' health care in the United States is separated geographically into 19 regions (numbered 1, 2, 4–10, 12 and 15–23)In January 2002, the Veterans Health Administration announced the merger of VISNs 13 and 14 to create a new, combined n ...
, a five-floor building located at the corner of Ward and Virginia Streets. The hospital closed in 2005, resulting in the loss of more than 100 jobs, as the economy in Marlin continued to wane. More recent investments include the construction of a three-story, 60-room Best Western Hotel on
Texas State Highway 6 State Highway 6 (SH 6) runs from the Red River of the South, Red River, the Texas–Oklahoma state line, to northwest of Galveston, Texas, Galveston, where it is known as the Old Galveston Highway. In Sugar Land and Missouri City, it is k ...
, at
Farm-to-Market Road In the United States, a farm-to-market road or ranch-to-market road (sometimes farm road or ranch road for short) is a state highway or county road that connects rural or agricultural areas to market towns. These are better-quality roads, usual ...
147. However, plans for the
Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails ...
to open a medical facility for prisoners at the former Veterans' Affairs Hospital, expected to add an additional 100 to 150 jobs to the Marlin economy, did not materialize. Funds were reallocated to renovate the TDJC hospital in
Galveston Galveston ( ) is a Gulf Coast of the United States, coastal resort town, resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island (Texas), Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a pop ...
, which was badly damaged by
Hurricane Rita Hurricane Rita was the most intense tropical cyclone on record in the Gulf of Mexico, tying with Hurricane Milton in 2024 Atlantic hurricane season, 2024, as well as being the fourth-most intense Atlantic hurricane ever recorded. Part of the ...
.


2011

The Heart of Texas Council of Governments granted the city of Marlin $35,000 to remove 15 dilapidated buildings and structures in the town, which included 300 tons of debris. Over of water lines were constructed on 20 streets in 2011. The city also started and completed a 500,000-gallon water tower project. In 2011, the city brought back its Annual Music and Blues Festival, and raised money to revamp the city baseball fields and revive the City Little League, which attracted 160 children that year. The city's
crime rate In ordinary language, a crime is an unlawful act punishable by a state or other authority. The term ''crime'' does not, in modern criminal law, have any simple and universally accepted definition,Farmer, Lindsay: "Crime, definitions of", in Can ...
decreased by 45% in 2011.


2015

On November 10, 2015, Marlin Chief of Police Darrell Allen died while in office. He had suffered a gunshot while at an off-duty security job in
Temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a place of worship, a building used for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. By convention, the specially built places of worship of some religions are commonly called "temples" in Engli ...
on November 1. The suspect was placed into custody at the scene by other officers working security. In December 2015, a protest occurred after the city water had been turned off for almost a week. Even after the city and the state had extensively renovated the water treatment system, the man who had worked for the city as the water systems manager, instead of calling for repairs, cut wires when alarms sounded instead of fixing the problems. The state found the disengaging of the systems when they removed panels to determine the problems. This led to a city-wide water crisis that caused the water system to repair extensive damage.


2019

On May 4, 2019, Marlin native Carolyn Lofton was elected as the first black woman to serve as mayor. She stated that she was motivated to run "on a desire to uplift and improve the community in which I live for all those who are currently here and those who seek to make a home here."


Geography

Marlin is located in east-central Falls County at (31.307975, −96.892975). Texas State Highway 6 runs along the eastern edge of the city, leading northwest to Waco and southeast to Bryan. Texas State Highway 7 runs through the center of town as Bridge Street and Live Oak Street, leading east to Kosse and west to Chilton. According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which , or 1.09%, is covered by water.


Climate

The climate in the area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the
Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, Marlin has a
humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...
, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.


Transportation


Highways and other major roads

*
Texas State Highway 6 State Highway 6 (SH 6) runs from the Red River of the South, Red River, the Texas–Oklahoma state line, to northwest of Galveston, Texas, Galveston, where it is known as the Old Galveston Highway. In Sugar Land and Missouri City, it is k ...
, also known as Williams, Craik Streets in city limits * Texas State Highway 7, also known as Bridge, Live Oak Streets in city limits *
Farm-to-market road In the United States, a farm-to-market road or ranch-to-market road (sometimes farm road or ranch road for short) is a state highway or county road that connects rural or agricultural areas to market towns. These are better-quality roads, usual ...
147, starts at Highway 7 and ends at Highway 14 less than four miles southwest of Groesbeck


Airport

Marlin and Falls County are served by the Marlin Municipal Airport, located northeast of the center of Marlin.


Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 5,462 people, 1,889 households, and 874 families residing in the city. 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 2000, 6,628 people, 2,415 households, and 1,509 families were residing in the city. The population density was . The 2,826 housing units had an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 41.84% White, 44.48% African American, 0.27% Native American, 0.20% Asian, 11.64% from other races, and 1.58% from two or more races. Hispanics or Latinos of any race were 18.30% of the population. Of the 2,415 households, 30.2% had children under 18 living with them, 35.7% were married couples living together, 22.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.5% were not families. About 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.9% had someone living alone who was 65 or older. The average household size was 2.47, and the average family size was 3.21. In the city, the age distribution was 33.2% under 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 21.3% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 19.3% who were 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.6 males. For every 100 females 18 and over, there were 80.4 males. The median income for a household in the city was $21,443, and for a family was $26,861. Males had a median income of $25,220 versus $18,111 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 $13,555. About 27.9% of families and 31.3% 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 40.8% of those under age 18 and 16.8% of those age 65 or over.


Government and infrastructure


Municipal government

In December 2015, Damien Eaglin, then the acting police chief, was designated as Marlin chief of police. He replaced Darrell Allen, who was shot and killed in November of that year. Nathan Sodek was named chief in October 2018. He killed himself in September 2019 when Texas Rangers served him a warrant in connection of an investigation of sexual misconduct.


State government

The
Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails ...
(TDCJ) operates the Marlin Unit, a transfer facility for men, in the City of Marlin. The unit opened in June 1992 and was transferred to the Texas Youth Commission (TYC) in May 1995.Marlin Unit
."
Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails ...
. Retrieved on September 22, 2010.
When it was a part of TYC, the facility, named the Marlin Orientation and Assessment Unit, served as the place of orientation for children of both sexes being committed into TYC from the facility's opening in 1995 to its transfer out of TYC in 2007. In September 2007 the facility was transferred back to the TDCJ. The 2007 conversions of the Marlin unit, to house 600 adult prisoners, had the possibility of improving the economy of Marlin. Around that time Texas officials were examining the possibility of converting a former
Veterans Administration The United States Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is a Cabinet-level executive branch department of the federal government charged with providing lifelong healthcare services to eligible military veterans at the 170 VA medical centers an ...
medical center in Marlin into a prison unit for psychiatric patients. The TDCJ also operates the William P. Hobby Unit, a prison for women located southwest of Marlin in unincorporated Falls County and named for former
Lieutenant Governor A lieutenant governor, lieutenant-governor, or vice governor is a high officer of state, whose precise role and rank vary by jurisdiction. Often a lieutenant governor is the deputy, or lieutenant, to or ranked under a governor — a "second-in-comm ...
Bill Hobby.


Federal government

The
United States Postal Service The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the executive branch of the federal governmen ...
operates the Marlin Post Office.


Education

The City of Marlin is served by the Marlin Independent School District.


Newspapers

The city of Marlin has had several newspapers. The current newspaper that has been serving Marlin since 1890 is the '' Marlin Democrat'', issued every Wednesday. Another newspaper published in the 19th and 20th centuries was ''The Falls County Freeman'', which served the African-American community. ''The Marlin Ball'' was established in 1874 by T.C. Oltorf and continued until about 1901. ''The Falls County Record'' was popular during the 1940s and 1950s. ''The Marlin Democrat'' and ''The Rosebud News'' remain the only active newspapers in Falls County.


Culture


Filmed in Marlin

*'' Leadbelly'' (1976), starring Roger E. Mosley, was filmed on and around Wood Street in 1974. *'' Infamous'' (2006), starring
Sandra Bullock Sandra Annette Bullock (; born July 26, 1964) is an American actress and film producer. The List of highest-paid film actors, highest-paid actress of 2010 and 2014, Sandra Bullock filmography, Bullock's filmography spans both comedy and drama, ...
, was filmed around Falls County Courthouse and unrestored homes of Marlin. * ''Making New Family Memories in Rural Texas'' (2016), was filmed in 2016.


Notable people

* Danario Alexander, wide receiver for the
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...
, was born in Marlin and graduated from Marlin High School in 2006 * Ken "Coach" Carter (second home), opened an unconventional boarding school in town in the fall of 2009 which has not been open for years and sits vacant * Ben Clarkson Connally was appointed a federal district judge by President Harry Truman *
Tom Connally Thomas Terry Connally (August 19, 1877October 28, 1963) was an American politician, who represented Texas in both the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives, as a member of the Democratic Party. He served in the U.S. House of Represe ...
, U.S. senator, 1928–1952, was chairman of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations is a standing committee of the U.S. Senate charged with leading foreign-policy legislation and debate in the Senate. It is generally responsible for authorizing and overseeing foreign a ...
during World War II, and member of the
U.S. House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Article One of th ...
, 1918–1928 *
Bruce Curry Bruce Curry (born March 29, 1956, in Marlin, Texas), is an American former professional boxer. He was the WBC Super Lightweight Champion from 1983 to 1984. Family He is a member of a very traditional family in the boxing scene: he is the olde ...
, world champion boxer, was born in Marlin in 1956 *
Bobbi Humphrey Barbara Ann "Bobbi" Humphrey (born April 25, 1950) is an American jazz flautist and singer. She has recorded twelve albums over the course of her career, mostly playing jazz fusion, funk, and soul-jazz. In 1971, she was the first female instrume ...
, jazz
flautist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...
and singer, was born in Marlin in 1950 *
Blind Willie Johnson Willie Johnson (January 25, 1897 – September 18, 1945), commonly known as Blind Willie Johnson, was an American gospel blues singer and guitarist. His landmark recordings completed between 1927 and 1930, thirty songs in all, display a combinat ...
,
blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
/
gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
street musician, had Marlin as his attributed birthplace, although his birth records are lost; his birthplace has also been traced to
Beaumont, Texas Beaumont is a city in the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat of Jefferson County, Texas, Jefferson County, within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area, located in Southeast Texas on the Neches River about east of Houston (city ...
* Dan Kubiak, state representative, graduated from Marlin High School in 1957 * Curtis Modkins, running backs coach for
Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...
, is a former offensive coordinator for the
San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...
* O.L. Rapson was the first manager of the Grand Rapids Hotel and manager of a small store outside of Marlin * Bob (Robert Jasper) Reeves (1892–1960) was a Western movie actor * Ben Herbert Rice, Jr. Was a federal district judge appointed by President Harry Truman *
LaDainian Tomlinson LaDainian Tarshane Tomlinson (born June 23, 1979), nicknamed "LT", is an American former professional football running back who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons. After a successful college football career with the T ...
, the great
San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...
and
New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...
running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...
, was born in Marlin; Tomlinson Hill, an unincorporated community just west of Marlin, is named for antebellum plantation owner James K. Tomlinson, from whom his slaves, including LaDainian Tomlinson's nineteenth century ancestors, took their name * Phil Wellman, minor league baseball player and manager, is infamous for a 2007 tirade against umpires after his ejection from a game


Photo gallery

Image:PostcardMarlinTXCottonCompressCirca1900to1910.jpg, Cotton compress, about 1905 Image:PostcardMarlinTXCourthouseCirca1900to1910.jpg, Courthouse, about 1905 until 1938 Image:PostcardMarlinTXMainStreetCirca1900to1910.jpg, Main Street, about 1905 Image:PostcardMarlinTXNewHighSchoolCirca1900to1910.jpg, "New High School", about 1905 Image:PostcardMarlinTXSanitariumCirca1900to1910.jpg, Marlin Sanitarium, about 1905 Image:PostcardMarlinTXBathHousesAndSanitoriumCirca1900to1910.jpg, Bath houses and Sanitarium, about 1905 Image:Fallscountycourthouse.jpg, Falls County Courthouse, March, 2009 Image:MarlinMineralWaterFountain.JPG, Fountain running Marlin's hot mineral water Image:FallsHotel.JPG, Falls Hotel on Coleman St. in 2010 Image:Palace Theater Marlin Wiki (1 of 1).jpg, Palace Theater Image:Allen Hospital Marlin (1 of 1).jpg, Buie-Allen Hospital


See also

*


References


External links


City of Marlin official website

Marlin Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Cities in Falls County, Texas Cities in Texas County seats in Texas