In Marion, Indiana you’ll find out just how cool it is here in James Dean Country!

Marion is located in Grant County (of which it is the county seat) north of Anderson along State Highway 9 just off I-69 on the banks of the Mississinewa River near Grisson Air Force Base.

The town was named for Revolutionary War General, Francis Marion. Positioned near the Mississinewa and Salamonie Rivers, Marion enjoys a temperate climate with all the excitement and splendor of the changing seasons. Its closeness to three man-made reservoirs, The Mississinewa, Huntington and Salamonie, makes it an attractive destination for outdoor activities.

Marion fielded professional baseball and roller polo teams, had its opera houses, supported rival street car companies and came within two weeks of operating Indiana's first electric interurban line. Marion, "Queen City of the Gas Belt," was as exciting as a Roman candle lit at both ends.

A central city renaissance which began about 1980 includes a county office and security complex, a new city building, an enclosed specialty mall, the Holiday Inn, and just a few blocks away, a $11.5 million vocational training center for traditional students and adults seeking additional training.

James Byron Dean was born at the "Seven Gables" apartment house in Marion, Indiana, ten miles north of Fairmount, on February 8, 1931. Jimmie was the only child of Winton Dean, and Mildred Wilson Dean.