HR0370 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0370 LRB102 18740 LAW 27298 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate Fayette County on the occasion of its 200th anniversary; and

WHEREAS, Fayette County was established from Bond, Wayne, Clark, Crawford and Jefferson counties on February 14, 1821, becoming Illinois' 18th county; it was named in honor of Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de Lafayette, the famous French general who fought for the colonies in the Revolutionary War; it was formed as necessary for Vandalia, having been selected as the second capital of the State, to be located within a county with suitable dimensions; and

WHEREAS, Vandalia was the home to three of the State's capitol buildings from 1819 to 1839, including the Vandalia State House, which was built in 1836 and was the fourth capitol building of Illinois; and

WHEREAS, Abraham Lincoln, elected from Sangamon County, arrived in Vandalia to take his seat in the legislature on November 29, 1834, where he first formulated his thoughts on slavery and served until the capitol moved to Springfield in March 1839; and

WHEREAS, The National Road, proposed by Thomas Jefferson in 1803 and authorized by Congress in 1806, began in Cumberland, Maryland in 1811 and ended in Vandalia in 1837; it served as an important escape route for slaves seeking freedom through the Underground Railroad, with 24 stations located across Fayette, Greene, Washington, and Westmoreland counties serving as stops along the way; and

WHEREAS, The 705.5-mile Illinois Central Railroad was joined by a golden spike one mile south of Ramsey on January 5, 1855, officially opening the then-longest railroad in the world; and

WHEREAS, Fayette County was home to three men, all Democrats, who attained political heights in Illinois government; of the three, two had deep family roots in the county; William M. Farmer, born near Shobonier, was elected to the House of Representatives in 1891 and named to the Illinois Supreme Court in 1906, where he served on the bench for 25 years; Arthur Roe, born in Shafter, was elected to the House of Representatives in 1913 and served as Speaker of the House from 1933 to 1935; Don E. Brummet, having moved to Vandalia in 1939, was elected to four terms in the House of Representatives from 1971 to 1979; and

WHEREAS, Fayette County is the final resting place of 12 veterans of the American Revolution, James Starrett Carson, James Cheshier, Samuel Davis, Henry Ginger, Wooten Harris, Benjamin Jones, Thomas Mahon, Isaac Martin, John Morrell, Benjamin Todd, James Verden, and Henry Walker, and their heroic service created a nation; and

WHEREAS, Fayette County is the only county in the State whose courthouse was once a private residence; and

WHEREAS, Fayette County is home to four locations listed on the National Registry of Historic Places; the Floyd and Glenora Dycus House, located at 305 S. Second Street in Brownstown, was listed on March 2, 2001; the First Presbyterian Church, located at 301 W. Main Street in Vandalia, was listed on March 24, 1982; the Little Brick House, located at 621 St. Clair Street in Vandalia, was listed on June 4, 1973; the Historic Vandalia Statehouse, located at 315 W. Gallatin in Vandalia, was listed on January 21, 1974; and

WHEREAS, Fayette County is divided into 20 townships, which are Avena, Bear Grove, Bowling Green, Carson, Kaskaskia, LaClede, Lone Grove, Loudon, North Hurricane, Otego, Pope, Ramsey, Sefton, Seminary, Shafter, Sharon, South Hurricane, Vandalia, Wheatland, and Wilberton; it is home to the cities of St. Elmo and Vandalia; it includes the villages of Bingham, Brownstown, Farina, Ramsey, and St. Peter; it also includes the unincorporated communities of Augsburg, Avena, Bayle City, Bluff City, Confidence, Dressor, Hagarstown, Loogootee, Pittsburg, Shafter, Shobonier, Saint Paul, and Vera; and

WHEREAS, Fayette County will celebrate its 200th anniversary at the Bicentennial Open House hosted by the Fayette County Genealogical and Historical Society at the Fayette County Museum on June 12, 2021; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the County of Fayette on the occasion of its 200th year; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to Historic Vandalia, Inc. as an expression of our esteem and respect.