Marion County is named for Francis Marion, who was a general in the American Revolutionary War and who lived from 1732 to 1795.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Fayette County
E – Clay County and Wayne County
S – Jefferson County
W – Washington County, Clinton County and Fayette County
Created: January 24, 1823 
County Seat:
Salem 1823 – present
County Courthouse – Salem
Location: 100 East Main Street / North Broadway Avenue
Built: 1910 – 1911
Style: Neo-Classical
Architect: Joseph W Royer of Urbana
Contractor: Cope and MacDonald
Description: The building faces south and is a two story buff colored limestone and concrete structure. The square shaped building is located on landscaped grounds in the center of Salem. The exterior features ashkar blocks sitting atop a raised basement, with plain string courses at various levels near the basement’s summit and under the edge of the roof. The south front of the square shaped building has a recessed entrance framed with stone and with a large Ionic column on either side which rises to a wide header with ornamentation at the flat roof line. A wide cornice runs below the flat roof line. The foundation is horizontal stone work. Rectangular windows, both single and paired, are set in various parts of the facade. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 4th Judicial Circuit. The building renovated in 1978. The architect was Field, Goldman, and Magee.
See: The architect Joseph W Royer of Urbana, Illinois designed courthouses in Illinois in Bureau County, Champaign County, Clay County, Douglas County, Ford County, Grundy County, Piatt County and Richland County; in iowa in Linn County; and in Wisconsin in Douglas County.
See: The 4th Judicial District includes Christian County, Clay County, Clinton County, Effingham County, Fayette County, Jasper County, Montgomery County and Shelby County.
History: The county was created in 1823 and Salem was selected as the county seat. The first courthouse was a story-and-a-half log structure built by Aaron Hicks in 1824 for $499. The courthouse was used until 1837 and then sold to the Methodists for a church. The second courthouse was a two story wood structure built by Mark Tully and then by Nathaniel Adams at a cost of $655. The third courthouse was a two story Neo-Classical structure built by Joseph Miller and later by Moore and Morrow in 1857 to 1860 at a cost of $35,000. The fourth and present courthouse was constructed in 1910 to 1911.
County Courthouse – Salem
Photos taken 2008