MARBLE HILL: TALE OF TWO CITIES MERGES INTO ONE

Marble Hill and Lutesville were known as the "Twin Cities" for many years before the vote was taken to merge them into the current town of Marble Hill.

The community of Marble Hill, was located on the east side of Crooked Creek in Bollinger County. Its neighbor was Lutesville, which was located on the west side of the creek.

In 1851, Bollinger County was organized and the county seat was the settlement of New California, according to The Cash-Book Journal.

The town was incorporated in 1868, and the townspeople decided a new name was needed. Marble Hill was chosen because of the outcroppings of white limestone in the area that were believed to be marble.

Marble Hill quickly became a center of commerce. In 1860, the town had a Missionary Baptist Church, two lawyers, two blacksmiths, three carpenters, five general stores, a watchmaker, steam flour mill, two grocers, saddle and harness maker, a tannery, two hotels and two physicians.

Lutesville was laid out in 1869 by Eli Lutes, who donated 10 acres to the Iron Mountain Railroad for a station. The railroad provided the town's major industry into the first part of the 20th century. It was also responsible for the growth of the community because both passenger and freight trains served the area several times a day.

Will Mayfield College, which was a Baptist college, was located in the area. The college offered 60-hour teachers' certificates to its graduates. At its peak, the school had 200 students, but it experienced financial difficulties and was forced to close in 1934.

The Lutesville Normal School, which was primarily Methodist, was organized in 1901, by Professor Wingo, a former president of the Will Mayfield College.

"There used to a big rivalry between Marble Hill and Lutesville, " said Lawrence Hahn, lifetime resident of the area. "Each was always trying to outdo the other in everything."

The rivalry between the two towns has now been replaced by more peaceful cooperation in recent years and they merged in 1985. After a vote in 1986, the official name of the consolidated town became Marble Hill.

At that time, Marble Hill was the Bollinger County seat and home to the county courthouse. This factored into the choice of the consolidated town's name.

But the of merging the two towns wasn't a new idea. An editorial in the 1891 edition of the Marble Hill Press raised the question of consolidating the two towns and incorporating under one name. It included the benefits to all the parties involved, like giving the town a position in the list of towns in this part of the state and attracting manufactures and industries to the area.

"Due to the consolidation of the towns in 1985, we have been able to obtain a economic grant for the completion of the industrial park," said David Jackson, administrative assistant for the city.

A new sewage disposal system and lagoon has also been built for the merged city, Jackson said. This would have been much more difficult had the two towns not consolidated, he said.

The property for the industrial park was purchased in 1973, but Heartland Industries, Inc., became the first business to open in the park last year.

The Twin City Airport was jointly established in 1974, is now part of the industrial park.

In 1989, the International Hat Co., closed putting 200 employees out of work. Paramount Hat Co. bought out the former facility later that same year and is still in operation today.

Jackson said there are numerous small businesses that dominate the area. But more than 50 percent of the area's work force leave the city to work.

"The number of local businesses have remained about the same over the years and it's a sad fact that there hasn't been much growth," Jackson said. "Currently, the town is trying to move to a enterprise zone and expand the industrial park and airport.

"We are also trying to finish the city's complex that is being built in conjunction with the swimming pool."

The town received the money to build a new post office in 1988, but the construction has not yet begun, Jackson said. Lutesville's office closed after the consolidation, and the Marble Hill's post office has not been able accommodate the increased flow of mail, Jackson said.

"We have now gone to a rural type postal delivery system," Jackson said. "I just recently have given all the houses in town numbers and gotten the street signs up.

"Now the delivery system runs continuously and it has effectively made the two towns one in regards to emergency response and street addresses."

Jackson said last year the town applied for possible funding for an airport expansion. "If things continue we're at a point of seeing industrial growth in Marble Hill's future," he said. "We would like to be an enterprise zone this year, if everything works out.

"What I expect to happen is that Marble Hill could become a support system of Cape and Jackson."

This area has the potential for the growth of new industries because it has an excellent work force. Jackson said that remains one of the Marble Hill's main assets.