North Franklin St, Marshall

This street is a strange portion of Marshall. If you drive down it, it looks as though it should begin the original downtown area. However, the older houses vary from those which have been fixed up or are in the process of being repaired to duplexes/multiplexes and even one trailer. I can personally vouch for the unsafe feeling as shortly after we moved in, I had a teenage boy do a "mock drive-by" and point a bb gun out his car window at me, and apparently at a few other neighborhood houses. Some neighbors are friendly, some are horribly rude. There are vacant lots, which neither the owners nor the city are willing to address. There are actually two parks nearby, Lion's Park and an unnamed park. However, the unnamed park which is actually within walking distance of my home is in full disrepair, basically a vacant lot which used to be a park, and Lion's Park is frequently a target of graffiti and near an area in which a great deal of crime is reported. It is also the voting center for the district and near the local elementary school.

Basically, I'm not sure how one would classify this neighborhood. There are neighbors here who are trying to restore houses and the neighborhood, and there are neighbors here who are content with disrepair and noise. This is not the town I thought I was purchasing a home in, there have either been many changes since I attended high school here or I was simply never on this side of town.