Marion in the Golden Age

In The Late Nineteenth Century, America�s new railroads flooded Marion with extravagant cargo: the rich and famous. For the likes of Mark Twain, Henry James and President Grover Cleveland, whose home here was known as the
�summer White House,� Marion became a treasured sanctuary from city life. Teeming with prosperity and the blossoming arts, this hamlet offered a setting so breathtaking that it inspired some of the world�s foremost creative minds.
Encouraged by The Century Magazine editor Richard Watson Gilder, prominent artists, architects, writers and celebrities flocked to Marion. Also frequented by Academy Award�winning actress Ethel Barrymore, it was here that Charles
Dana Gibson sketched his iconic �Gibson Girl.� Whether following First Lady Frances Cleveland�s trendsetting fashion or the well-publicized wedding of Cecil Clark and Richard Harding Davis, the eyes of America were firmly planted on Marion�s sparkling shores and glittering guests.