December 23, 2007

In 1886, Forrest City (St. Francis) was home to one of the area’s largest hotels. Construction began on the forty-room Avery Hotel, located near the railroad depot, in 1885. Opening approximately a year later, the facility changed names over the years to the Belsor, the Forrest City Hotel, and finally the Marion. The building stood for almost seventy-five years before it was, as shown in this photograph, demolished.