Then and Now

Marseilles is a riverside town situated nearly 80 miles outside of Chicago. It occupies 8.7 square miles of land and is home to around 4,650 residents. The village was established by Lovell Kimball, a pioneering entrepreneur who envisioned a thriving industrial development along the Illinois River when he came across the site in the early 1830s. The forward-thinking founding father of Marseilles knew the chances of the Illinois and Michigan Canal coming his way were great since a bill had just been signed to proceed with construction. The Canal proved to be a sure-thing and it provided an excellent means for growth in the small rural settlement.

The next boost to the area's population was a result of the railroad. At the time there were actually two separate town centers (divided by a large field at present-day Pearl Street). Eventually the "dead zone" filled in with houses and a school. By the end of the 1920s four passenger trains per day stopped in Marseilles and freight cars passed through the station about five times everyday. There was also a lucrative coal mine in Marseilles that supplied both the local community and settlements within shipping distance.

Today the major industries in Marseilles are still centered about materials manufacturing. Local jobs include steel fabrication, brick production, gravel and sand mining, and other items used for construction. The Illinois River provides a beautiful setting for biking, hiking, camping, canoeing and other recreation in the suburb of Marseilles and in the adjacent State Park area.
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Park is the Place

Illini State Park is a large forested region located across the Illinois River from the village of Marseilles. You can access it from the Marseilles River Bridge at Main Street. The park is a popular campground with several sites that accommodate RVs (with electricity hookups), or go the old-fashioned route and pop a tent in a clearing by the river. The park has restrooms and showers, plus a covered eating area with fireplaces and charcoal grills. Winter may not be prime time for camping out, but you can bet the sledding hill and ice skating rink at Illini State Park will be packed the day after a new snowfall.

During the summer months, residents flock to the Marseilles Recreation Area to enjoy a refreshing dunk in the city pool. There's also a sand volleyball court and baseball fields at the site, located off Commercial Street. Broadway Park offers a good-size field for pickup football games and kite flying, plus a basketball court and playground. Pack a lunch or plan a BBQ and dine al fresco at the picnic shelter, which is equipped with grills and tables. On Lincoln Street, Knudson Park has a little bit of an old-timey feel with an elegant gazebo and bandstand and a brick sidewalk surrounding the grass-covered commons.
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Real Estate

The housing in Marseilles is quite varied, providing home buyers with everything from century-old farmhouses to new construction designs. Most properties rest on large lots with plenty of space to garden, play, let the dog run and hold backyard barbeques. The majority of homes are single-family frame houses with two, three or four bedrooms that start at $55,000 (for more of a ramshackle place that needs some TLC) and go up to $750,000 for a large residence on the river with lots of acreage and completely updated amenities and finishes.
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Marseilles Residential Real Estate Info for Single-Family Detached and Attached Homes

Average Sale Price	Average # of Days on the Market	Number of Sales	Average List Price	Number of Listings
$145,075	77	505	$215,019	108

Source: Multiple Listings Service of Northern Illinois

School's in Session

There's just one elementary school in Marseilles. It has an enrollment of about 650 students with 55 teachers on staff. It offers pre-K through 8th Grade.

Marseilles Elementary School District #150 210 Chicago Street, 815-795-2428