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Marion, the county seat of McDowell County, was planned and built on land selected by the first McDowell County Commissioners on March 14, 1844 at the Historic Carson House on Buck Creek. It was not until 1845, however, that the official name of Marion was sanctioned as the county seat by the state legislature. The name of Marion came from Francis Marion, the American Revolutionary War hero, known as the "Swamp Fox" and the man upon whom the movie "The Patriot" was based. Over the years, Marion was also home to Sgt. Daniel Kanipe, one of only two survivors of General Custer's 7th Cavalry that was massacred at the Battle of Little Bighorn. The nearby Lake James is a popular local and tourist attraction, and has been the backdrop for movies such as The Last of the Mohicans and The Hunt for Red October.

Another famous home in Marion is the Joseph McDowell House, built in 1787 by the county's namesake, Joseph McDowell. McDowell played a large role in the Battle of Cowpens when he helped defeat the British in January 1781. McDowell went on to serve as a member of the North Carolina Constitutional Convention in 1788 and was a member of the 3rd United States Congress. Restoration plans are underway to preserve this historic house and ensure that it remains a vital part of Marion's history.

The Big Fire of Marion

Until the late 19th century, Main Street was a collection of mostly wooden huts, houses, and buildings. On Sunday morning, November 25, 1894 a fire sprang up in an old building known as the "Ark" located behind the Courthouse. The fire spread to Main Street and rushed down the street at an incredible pace. The wooden buildings were quickly consumed by the enormous inferno. Marion had few brick buildings on Main Street were also gutted, and because there was no public water supply, bucket brigades were hurriedly formed to halt the advance of the fire. It was not enough, however, and most of Marion Main Street was burned to the ground. Showing the resiliency possessed by the citizens, the city came together and took on the rebuilding process, making Marion larger and stronger than before. Today, downtown Marion is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.

Depression Era & Labor Conflict

On Oct. 2, 1929, the McDowell County sheriff and several deputies faced a group of workers outside the fence in front of the Marion Manufacturing Company, whose 600 employees had been on strike for four months. A gunfight quickly ensued between the two groups. Sheriff Oscar Adkins would later swear in court that the strikers opened fire first, although no weapons were ever found on any of the strikers. 36 strikers were shot, 6 mortally, during the confrontation. Sinclair Lewis wrote a syndicated newspaper report entitled "Cheap and Contented Labor: The Picture of the Southern Mill Town." He concluded: "The workers, especially in Marion, have become discouraged. They are hungry, tired, bewildered. They are sick of being shot down. Unless the whoe country encourages them [financially], they will crawl back into the slavery I have sought to picture here." However, since the Great Depression was in full force, little such help would arrive.

Historic District

Eleven structures make up the Main Street Historic District in the downtown area. Four churches, St. John's Episcopal Church (1882), First Baptist (1914), First Presbyterian (1923), and St. Matthews Lutheran (1935); two former hotels, the Eagle Hotel, which survived the 1894 fire, and the Hotel Marianna (1910); a bank on Main Street built in 1903; the McDowell County Courthouse, which was constructed in 1928; the Marion Depot (1860s), which is the oldest surviving depot on the Western Rail Line; the Public Library (1937), which was originally built as a post office; and the Marion Community Building, built in 1937. Projects are currently underway to revitalize the downtown area as well as to maintain and restore the character of the long-standing buildings.