Marshall Public Library (Marshall, IL)

The north east corner lot at Clinton (5th) and Main (Archer Avenue) Streets north of the courthouse in Marshall was unique because for many years it was the only lot on the 500 block of Main that did not have a business building. In 1838 a house was erected by Dr. Poole and served as a residence and doctor’s office for many years. It became the Shaw residence and after it was no longer used as a home it was used for several businesses until 1927 when the house was torn down and replaced by a filling station erected by the Ohio Oil division of the Lincoln Oil Refining Company of Robinson, Illinois. Several businesses followed including J’s Coin Laundry and Cooper’s Laundry and Dry Cleaning.

Those boots are smashing! What a great resource for researchers.

This photo, from an album donated by Joann Brosman Strange, shows the Stone Arch Bridge on West Archer in1985.
The bridge was constructed in 1837 along the National Road under the supervision of Alexander McGregor. No mortar was used in the construction, and this is one of the last stone arch bridges from that road still in use.
From the "Tour of Historic Marshall, Illinois" booklet - "Archer Avenue is part of the original Cumberland Road, later known as National Road. The road was commissioned in 1806 to go from Cumberland, Maryland to the Mississippi River. The completion of the road through Clark County in the early 1930s drew many settlers to the area and was a contributing factor in the move of the Clark County seat from Darwin to Marshall in 1838. The road was paved with bricks in the 1920s and in 1926 it became a part of US Hwy 40 which stretched from coast to coast."