Marion is located 2 miles (4 km) North of Kamas and 3 miles (5 km) South of Oakley on State Route 32. Earlier names of the town include Morrell after an early settler in the area and Boulderville. The current name is in honor of an LDS Church Apostle by the name of Francis Marion Lyman. A second town, Francis, just 5 miles (7 km) south also carries his name.

Marion is a small rural farming community of the Kamas Valley that became notorious during the State of Utah's dispute with John Singer, the polygamist who refused to allow the State to educate his children, and who was killed by Utah Law Enforcement Officers on the morning of 18 January 1979. Later a member of the Singer Family, Adam Swapp, in retaliation detonated explosives which damaged a nearby LDS Chapel in Marion. John's wife Vicky and Swapp, who had married two of the Singer daughters, were later convicted of the crime and sent to prison.

Today, the church since repaired, the peaceful valley includes an old co-op store and a snowmobile dealership. (The dealershp has since moved to Kamas.)

See: John W. Van Cott, Utah Place Names; Kelsey Weinriter, John Singer; Linda Bishop Christensen, Francis Marion Lyman.