Then and Now: Hadley General Store, (Marley) Mokena
January 2, 2013 11:12PM
The Hadley Store as it appeared before it burned down in 1918. From the David Belden Collection
Updated: February 4, 2013 6:16AM
Hadley General Store, (Marley) Mokena
In 1880, George L. Haley helped to lay out and survey the triangular 16-acre tract of land that would soon be known as Marley. The growth of Marley can be traced to the construction of a railroad right-of-way in 1881, which became an extension of the Wabash, St. Louis, and Pacific Railway from Forrest, Ill., to Chicago. A depot was constructed on the east side of the tracks near Maple Street, and soon other businesses followed, including a granary, stockyard, blacksmith shop and general store. In 1893, C.F. Haley constructed a new general store, shown in the Then photograph, at the northeast corner of Main and Valley streets. This larger store included a hall above the store for community activities. The store burned down in 1918. The Now photograph shows a view of the old store lot from Main Street, and still visible in the image is what is believed to be part of the store’s foundation or part of the scale on the track side of the building.
The Then photograph is from David Belden and the Local History Project digital collections. The Now photograph was taken by Christine O’Brien. Belden is publishing local postcard books with Arcadia Publishing in his Local History classes. If you are interested in contributing a postcard image, email him at: dbelden@mchs.net or call 815-467-2140, Ext. 260.
