HR0553 103RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR0553 LRB103 37132 LAW 67251 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of Representatives wish to congratulate the Village of Monee on the occasion of the 150th anniversary of its founding by Augustus Herbert in 1853; and

WHEREAS, In 1832, the Treaty of Camp Tippecanoe with the Pottawatomie resulted in a gift of property to the five daughters of Marie LeFevre Bailly, who was of half-French, half-Ottawa descent, and her husband, Joseph Bailly; and

WHEREAS, While young Marie LeFevre Bailly was called "Mah-ree" by the French, the Ottawa had no corresponding sound for the letter "r" in their dialect, thus calling the little girl "Mah-nee", and the area and later village were named Monee in her honor; and

WHEREAS, In 1851, William Ogden, the first Mayor of Chicago and leading investor in the Illinois Central Railroad Company, purchased the property from the Bailly family for five dollars an acre; and

WHEREAS, In 1853, the Village of Monee was platted for founder August Herbert, who had obtained 160 acres in 1849 under a land warrant granted to him for services in the Mexican War; he then sold a tract of 40 acres of his initial 160 to the Illinois Central Railroad Company, which was also platted, with both tracts of land forming the Village of Monee; and

WHEREAS, That same year, the Illinois Central Railroad established a station at Monee, and that station led to the growth of the town, which soon boasted a general store, a schoolhouse, and a grain warehouse with several elevators; and

WHEREAS, A little over two decades later, the Village of Monee was incorporated on November 9, 1874; and

WHEREAS, In 1905, the Village of Monee hosted its first Monee District Fair, which later evolved into the annual Fall Fest, the Monee Review newspaper was established, and a new schoolhouse was constructed; and

WHEREAS, In the 1950s, the Village of Monee's fire department purchased land, which would eventually become Firemen's Park, the American Legion Auxiliary established a post, the first elementary school was built, Crete-Monee High School was constructed and started classes, gas lines were introduced, the construction of Interstate 57 was announced, and the current post office opened; and

WHEREAS, In 1974, the Village of Monee celebrated its centennial with a number of events and activities, including a parade, a play, the publication of a historical book, and the burial of a time capsule; and

WHEREAS, In 2016, the Village of Monee's Monee Creamery was granted Will County landmark status for it being one of the last creamery structures in the county constructed out of local Lockport limestone, achieving said status thanks to the efforts made by the Save the Creamery Foundation, which evolved into the Monee Historical Society; and

WHEREAS, With over 5,000 residents, multiple local and global businesses, and the cohesive Monee's Alliance of Churches (MAC), the Village of Monee has ample reason to commemorate the achievements and legacy of the past 150 years, while also eagerly anticipating the promising future that lies ahead; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the Village of Monee on the 150th anniversary of its founding; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be presented to the Village of Monee and the Monee Historical Society as an expression of our esteem and respect.