Marseilles history

Marseilles is a riverside town situated nearly 80 miles outside of Chicago. It occupies 8.7 square miles of land and is home to around 4,650 residents. The village was established by Lovell Kimball, a pioneering entrepreneur who envisioned a thriving industrial development along the Illinois River when he came across the site in the early 1830s. The forward-thinking founding father of Marseilles knew the chances of the Illinois and Michigan Canal coming his way were great since a bill had just been signed to proceed with construction. The Canal proved to be a sure-thing and it provided an excellent means for growth in the small rural settlement.

The next boost to the area's population was a result of the railroad. At the time there were actually two separate town centers (divided by a large field at present-day Pearl Street). Eventually the 'dead zone' filled in with houses and a school. By the end of the 1920s four passenger trains per day stopped in Marseilles and freight cars passed through the station about five times everyday. There was also a lucrative coal mine in Marseilles that supplied both the local community and settlements within shipping distance.

Today the major industries in Marseilles are still centered about materials manufacturing. Local jobs include steel fabrication, brick production, gravel and sand mining, and other items used for construction. The Illinois River provides a beautiful setting for biking, hiking, camping, canoeing and other recreation in the suburb of Marseilles and in the adjacent State Park area.