Only memories remain of this former farmhouse that for about a century stood vigil on the southern end of Marion. The house, owned by Eddie and Karen Wheeler, was torn down Friday to make way for new residential development. Eddie's parents had lived in the home and he grew up there as a boy.The house once was the centerpiece of a sprawling 300-plus acre farm that ran from where the Front Porch Restaurant is today to the tiny creek at the intersection of Coleman Road and U.S. 641 near Ricky Brown's house. The City of Marion bought part of the farm back in the 1940s to build Old City Lake.
Wayne Crider of Marion was raised in the old clapboard home and says it still had the same roof on it as it did when his father bought it in 1922. Crider recalls many stories about the old homeplace and shared them with The Press for a story that will be published in next week's printed edition. Crider's father sold the farm and house to the Wheelers in the mid 1940s.
