The area’s natural resources and superb location attracted Native Americans as the first to settle in the area. Food, a natural corridor from the sea inland, and other resources provided by the nearby Little Pee Dee and Great Pee Dee Rivers and the main tributary called Catfish Creek enticed the Pedee, Cheraw, and Waccamaw Indians to frequent and stay in the area.

The area surrounding the present-day City of Marion was next settled by English settlers migrating inland from the South Carolina coast in the 1730s and 1740s. Around 1754 a somewhat permanent settlement was established by John Godbold and others. By the late 1700s, the community of Gilesborough, named for the landowner, surveyor, and one of the area’s first “judges,” Hugh Giles, began to prosper.

During the American Revolutionary War, particularly from 1779-1782, family members from the area fought on each side of the American Revolutionary War, with Giles and others as leaders of militia units, and Jesse Barfield and Macijah Gainey and others as leaders of loyalists troops. Sites near the center of today’s City of Marion were skirmish sites for these opposing forces.

In 1798, when courthouse districts were established in the new state, the county was named Marion in honor of Gen. Francis Marion, the notorious “Swamp Fox” of the Revolutionary War, under whom many local militia members served. Today, a statue honoring this hero of guerilla warfare stands in the City of Marion’s square, one of many reminders that an exciting history remains vital to life in the City and County of Marion.

In 1799 Thomas Godbold Sr., a prominent settler and landowner, laid out a village square depicting many homes, businesses, and government offices. The Village of Gilesborough gave rise to the City of Marion, which grew and prospered. Marion immediately became a center for justice, commerce, and social activities. The county’s first courthouse was completed in 1800.

In 1847, the City’s name was officially changed to Marion, and the present-day courthouse was built in 1853. Situated across the square from the statue of Francis Marion, the City’s courthouse square is one of the largest in the state. The Old Opera House, just off the square, was built in 1892 and houses a 300-seat auditorium used by various theater and arts groups and community and civic organizations. The Marion Academy Building, built in 1886, is home to the Marion County Museum. These buildings, and others dating to the early 1900s, form the heart of the town of 7,000 residents.

Since a correspondent of The Nation, sent south to describe the area to its readers, reportedly wrote in 1865 that Marion is “a very pretty little village full of trees and gardens and light, elegant houses,” it has retained his name as “the pretty little town” in South Carolina.

To learn more about the history of Marion, purchase the Marion Chamber of Commerce’s booklet Marion, South Carolina. Contact the Chamber at 843-423-3561 to learn how to order your copy.

By 1979, the City of Marion had preserved and had declared on the National Register a large historic district of about 1,150 acres, containing some 90 buildings and several monuments. Thirty of those buildings and one monument are viewable on the National Register of Historic Places website.

In 2001, the old Marion High School, at 719 N. Main Street, was added to the City’s historic district and was restored. The historic district contains the county’s 1853 Courthouse, among other prominent government buildings. The City owns the Old Town Hall & Opera House, a brick multi-purpose community building, originally built in 1892. The building served as a police station, jail, fire department, meat market, and town council meeting room with a large auditorium upstairs. The two-story rectangular brick structure is a simple classic-revival design.

Additionally, in the City’s center is the Marion County Archives & History Center in the Old Records Building on the square. With its entrance on Godbold Street, research of original documents may be made from noon-5 p.m., Monday – Thursday. The building was constructed in 1903 and is fireproof. It housed the offices of the Clerk of Court and the Judge of Probate and functioned as such until 1979.

In 1997 an effort to establish a county archive was launched by Pee Dee Genealogical Chapter, S.C. Genealogy Society, Archivist R. Maxcy Foxworth Jr., and the Archives and History Center subsequently opened on November 29, 2000. All early County records, which begin in 1800, through the early 1900s are available here, along with the books, files, charts, etc., comprising the Pee Dee Chapter archives, offering a uniquely comprehensive research center.

The Marion County Museum, found in the City on Willcox Avenue, is in a building originally built in 1886 as a school. The museum houses a display of fine furnishings, Oriental rugs, local antiques, and rotating exhibits. This two-story building was the first public grade school in the district and is also on the National Register for Historic Sites.

The Marion Chamber of Commerce occupies the City’s Historic Train Depot. The one-story, brick passenger depot was built in 1908 for the Atlantic Coastline Railroad. The first railroad through Marion was the Wilmington & Manchester Railroad. After completing renovations, the site erected its historical marker in 2009. Visit the Chamber’s website for more information.

The City of Marion’s Historic Main Street Revitalization Association showcases the historic district’s businesses, services, and entities. Visit the HMRA website for information about this group’s efforts regarding maintaining the historical flavor in Marion.

City of Marion Hike and Bike Trail: A two-mile trek running through the City beginning at the Historic Train Depot and running to the Catfish Creek Canal west of town. The wonderfully landscaped paved trail features a fountain and benches. Officials in Marion County and the City of Marion began collaborating on a Rails-to-Trails project in 1986, when the county acquired the Marion-to-Mullins segment of an abandoned railroad line, then deeded the portion within city limits to the City.

In 1987, the City turned its segment into a greenway. The City has since acquired two additional miles of the line as a fitness trail, and in 1992, it opened the first quarter-mile section, calling it the Marion Hike and Bike Trail.

Marion County Library was built in 1905, thanks to the Carnegie Foundation, which was requested to help with funds to construct “a modern library building.” In 1905 a grant of $7,500 was made with the stipulation that the town should contribute toward the support of the library and that a suitable site be provided for the building. The site chosen is a beautiful one, adjacent to the town square.

The City of Marion is home to one of the state’s oldest continually operating weekly newspapers. With a history that dates to the 1850s, copies of the newspaper are on microfilm in the county library. Additionally, the newspaper has an online presence and maintains many bound copies of its old issues at its 211 E. Bobby Gerald Boulevard office.