MARSHALL, Ill. (WTWO/WAWV) — Those interested in learning about the area’s history and taking summer evening walks, have the opportunity to enjoy the Marshall Walking Tours taking place downtown on Friday nights this summer.
Free and open to all ages of the public, the walking tours meet at the Clark County Courthouse Lawn, near the Abraham Lincoln statue at 6:30 p.m. on Friday nights. The community then takes guided tours through downtown Marshall in which local historians give unique and insightful information about the area’s history.
“I think Marshall has a really rich history and this is just a way to bring some of those stories and characters from the history alive to the younger people who haven’t heard them,” said Jessie Crews, Marshall Walking Tour event organizer, and Farmer’s Market Committee member. “We just have such a rich history and a lot of good stories to be told so that’s kind of the purpose of these tours.”
The topic of the tours changes each week. The schedule topics are listed below.
- June 9 | Downtown Marshall Square
- June 16 | Famous Author James Jones & Writer’s Colony
- June 23 | Historic South Side of Marshall
- June 30 | Clark County Courthouse & Famous Outlaws
- July 7 | Story of the Romani Queen (Meeting at the Marshall Cemetery)
- July 14 | Historic Marshall Catholic Church
- July 21 | Historic North Side of Marshall
- July 28 | The Clark County Historical Museum
For more up-to-date information, be sure to follow the Marshall Farmer’s Market Facebook for details. People are welcome to enjoy the farmer’s market taking place from 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. and the Marshall City band at 8:00 p.m. before or after the tours.
Some of the recent tours have included local downtown businesses and buildings, along with writer’s colonies, and famous authors as well.
“We just kind of talked about some of the downtown buildings and businesses that had been there since Marshall was formed and then this past week there was a super interesting one on the Handy Writers’ Colony that was in Marshall during the 40s and 50s and about James Jones who is the author of From Here to Eternity, ” explained Crews.
For anyone interested in being a volunteer for the Marshall Walking Tours, contact the Marshall Chamber of Commerce for further information and details on how to get started.
