Mule Train

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In the spring of 1968, Dr. martin Luther King, Jr., visited Marks to rally support for the Southern Christian Leadership Conference's "Poor People's Campaign", a nationwide march to Washington, D.C., to raise awareness of economic disparity and persistent poverty. Dr. King was so moved by the desperate conditions in marks that he promoted it as the starting point for the campaign's network of traveling groups. His assassination a few weeks later delayed the implementation of the campaign until May, when nine caravans of poverty-stricken protestors began their slow way toward the East Coast from Several locations.

One hundred and fifteen Quitman County residents, ranging in age from eight months to 70 years old, left Marks on May 13, traveling in more than a dozen mule-drawn wagons. On June 19, 1968, Quitman County's famous "Mule Train" rolled into the nation's capitol and joined the large protest on the National Mall.

 

Train Coal Tower

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In the heyday of rail traffic, locomotives were steam powered and fueled by way of structures such as this in Lambert. The original one built in the 1800s was made of wood, but this concrete structure was built in the early 1900s and served its purpose until the mid-twentieth century when the fuel of choice became diesel. Because of the high cost of demolition, a few of these iconic towers remain in place and are often sought out by railfans for photo opportunities.