About Us

History

The story of Etowah is the story of turn-of-the-century America. Embedded in the fabric of “Shovel City” Marion, Ohio’s industrial tradition, the Etowah estate stands as a monument to the innovations that put Marion on the map.

The property was custom built for the family of George Washington King, a local industrialist who co-founded, along with Edward Huber and Henry Barnhart, the Marion Steam Shovel Company in 1884. The firm sold its excavation and construction wares for railway and real estate development projects around the world across the late 1800s. But the company’s biggest undertaking would come in the 20th century, when Marion Steam Shovel began to fulfill orders for ballast plows and dozens of its largest Model 91 shovels for the burgeoning isthmian canal in Panama. With President Theodore Roosevelt’s backing, the canal promised to permanently link the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, and revolutionize maritime transit forever.

In 1905, King’s success opened the way for him and his wife Sarah (Reber) to employ East Coast architect Wilson Eyre to design  a proper estate for his family. Residing alongside Marion’s Mount Vernon Avenue and South Greenwood Streets, the lot was chosen with a grand vision in mind.

Eyre designed the home in the Mediterranean revival style. The property counted extensive sunken gardens and a lake to go along with its elaborately well-crafted interior. While providing comfortable environs for raising the King family, it also emerged as a community hub of activity. The Kings envisioned their home as a space for dinner parties, which often came with elaborate decoration, food, and live orchestra entertainment. Beyond that, the grounds became a center of  strolling and ice skating in the winter months, earning a central role in the day-to-day activity of Marion locals. 

The Kings resided in the home until their deaths, and their son Ray and daughter Ava continued to raise their own families there into the 1940s. The Kings then transferred the property to Central Christian Church in 1947 as they downsized their residences. In 2024, Central Christian Church deeded the property to the EPA, beginning the estate’s next phase as a Marion institution.

Today, Etowah retains its beautiful architectural value and stands as a monument to Marion’s contribution to Ohio and American history. The Etowah Preservation Association seeks to elevate the estate’s profile and more freely promote the property as a hub of local activity. Hosting community events, weddings, and historical tours, Etowah has a big future ahead. In preserving its past, the EPA works to ensure that Etowah contributes much to Marion’s present and coming development.