Marion

City and seat of Perry County, in central Alabama, near the Cahaba River, 101 km/63 mi west-northwest of Montgomery; population (1990) 4,200. The city is the site of Marion Military Institute (established 1842) and Judson College (founded 1838), and was settled in 1817. The Talladega National Forest is located 16 km/10 mi northeast

Marion

City and seat of Williamson County, south-central Illinois, 26 km/16 mi east of Carbondale; population (2000) 16,000. Local industries make explosives and batteries, while the region has coalmines and fruit farms.

The large Crab Orchard Lake and the 174 sq km/67 sq mi Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge lie, respectively, just to the west and southeast of Marion.The Shawnee National Forest and Lake of Egypt are 11 km/7 mi south. A Federal penitentiary is situated 6 km/4 mi southwest.

Marion

City and seat of Grant County, east-central Indiana; population (2000) 31,300. Marion is situated on the Mississinewa River, 48 km/30 mi northwest of Muncie.

Settled in 1826 along a major Indian trail, Marion became a boom town with the discovery of oil and gas in the region in the 1880s, and is now a marketing, processing, and shipping centre for an agricultural region. Its manufactured goods include car parts, television sets, oil-drilling equipment, paper products, glass, plastics, and wire. The Miami Indian Historical Site here marks a final battle that took place between settlers and natives in 1812. The city is home to Indiana Wesleyan University (founded 1920).

Marion

City in Linn County, east-central Iowa, a suburb located immediately northeast of Cedar Rapids; population (1990) 20,400. Important industries include the manufacture of building materials and mobile homes, along with animal feed, tools, and wood products.

Marion was settled in 1839, and later became a railway centre, with workshops and marshalling yards. Its railway heritage is recalled in its rebuilt Depot Pavilion. Marion was the first seat of Linn County, but lost the position to Cedar Rapids in 1919. Since 1950, residential growth has transformed it into a dormitory town serving Cedar Rapids. Attractions include the Granger House museum, and the Swamp Fox festival held each September. This, and the town, is named in honour of the revolutionary war general, Francis ‘Swamp Fox’ Marion.

Marion

Town in Plymouth County, southeastern Massachusetts; population (2000 est) 1,200. Marion stands on the western side of Buzzards Bay, 14 km/9 mi east-northeast of New Bedford. It is a summer resort, and also has a boatbuilding industry. It was first settled by Europeans as Sippican in 1679, and was incorporated in 1852 as Marion, named after the American revolutionary Francis Marion.

Marion

City and seat of Marion County, in north-central Ohio, 72 km/45 mi north of the state capital Columbus; population (2000) 35,300. The city was named after the Revolutionary War commander Francis Marion, and was founded in 1820.

Marion's manufactures include heavy earth-moving equipment (the first steam-shovel was produced here in 1874), tractors, road rollers, farm implements, car bodies, and refrigerators. The childhood home of US president Warren G Harding has been preserved as a museum.

Marion

Town and seat of Smyth County, in southwestern Virginia; population (1990) 6,600. Marion stands on the Middle Fork of the Holston River, 148 km/92 mi southwest of Roanoke.

Marion, which lies in the Great Appalachian Valley just north of the Iron Mountains and in the middle of Jefferson National Forest, is a popular vacation resort. Craft goods are made in the town from local wood and limestone. From 1924 to 1941, the writer Sherwood Anderson lived in Marion and at Trout Dale, a locality 16 km/10 mi to the southeast, near Mount Rogers.