On Sep­tem­ber 7^th, 1920, Mar­i­on host­ed the 2^nd annu­al ​“Corn­field Clas­sic: Mar­i­on’s Inter­na­tion­al Motor­cy­cle Race,” just south­west of town. Orga­niz­ers used coun­ty roads to cre­ate a 5‑mile course. The 200-mile race with a crowd of about 15,000 last­ed approx­i­mate­ly three hours. The 1920 vic­tor was Harley-David­son rid­er Ray Weishaar of Bridge­port, CT, at 2:48:37, about 18 min­utes below the pre­vi­ous year’s win­ner, Red Parkhurst. Weishaar was giv­en a piglet as part of the cel­e­bra­tion, and he made a his­toric vic­to­ry lap with the lit­tle pig. Harley’s race team became coined as the ​“Hog Boys,” and the name ​“Hog” stuck, sig­ni­fy­ing Mar­i­on as ​“Home of the Hog.” On the same Grant Coun­ty roads, the Indi­ana Motor­cy­cle Preser­va­tion Soci­ety hosts the ​“Corn­field Clas­sic Time Tri­als” event to com­mem­o­rate and revive a promi­nent piece of history.

Speak­ing of motors, there are two more boom­ing events which take place at our pres­ti­gious region­al air­port. One is the long­stand­ing Fly/​In Cruise/​In which brings in vis­i­tors from far and wide to see his­tor­i­cal air­craft and automobiles.

More recent­ly, a new fla­vor of car enthu­si­asm ignites as Mar­i­on also hosts the Indy Airstrip Attack fea­tur­ing high-speed rac­ing down the airport’s run­way. A world record was set in 2017, then in 2018 for the fastest half-mile at near­ly 260 mph.

Switch­ing gears, Mar­i­on is just a few miles south of the his­tor­i­cal Bat­tle of the Mis­sissinewa, the first offen­sive vic­to­ry of the Amer­i­can Army dur­ing the War of 1812. Bus­loads of thou­sands trav­el to Mar­i­on dur­ing the ​“Mis­sissinewa 1812” reen­act­ment week­end which takes place each fall on the very grounds the bat­tle took place over 200 years ago. 

Mar­i­on also hous­es the inter­na­tion­al Quil­ters Hall of Fame, the home of quilt design­er Marie Web­ster, one of the first female entre­pre­neurs. Quil­ters and enthu­si­asts from all over the world gath­er here to see unique quilts, take class­es, and cel­e­brate the folk art of quilting.

If you’re a fan of the Garfield com­ic cre­at­ed by Mar­i­on native Jim Davis, the city of Mar­i­on fea­tures three of the dozen unique Garfield stat­ues spread through­out the coun­ty along the Grant Coun­ty Garfield Trail. 

Mar­i­on, Indi­ana is famous­ly the birth­place of leg­endary Hol­ly­wood icon, James Dean. Vis­it the James Dean Birth Site Memo­r­i­al down­town at 4^th and McClure Street on your way to or from the mul­ti­tude of attrac­tions in his home­town of Fair­mount, also in Grant County. 

There are many more attrac­tions in and around Mar­i­on, Indi­ana! Dis­cov­er places to dine, shop, stay, and play by vis­it­ing Show Me Grant Coun­ty, pro­vid­ed by the Grant Coun­ty Vis­i­tors Bureau.