HR0553LRB103 37132 LAW 67251 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate the Village of Monee on
4the occasion of the 150th anniversary of its founding by
5Augustus Herbert in 1853; and
 
6    WHEREAS, In 1832, the Treaty of Camp Tippecanoe with the
7Pottawatomie resulted in a gift of property to the five
8daughters of Marie LeFevre Bailly, who was of half-French,
9half-Ottawa descent, and her husband, Joseph Bailly; and
 
10    WHEREAS, While young Marie LeFevre Bailly was called
11"Mah-ree" by the French, the Ottawa had no corresponding sound
12for the letter "r" in their dialect, thus calling the little
13girl "Mah-nee", and the area and later village were named
14Monee in her honor; and
 
15    WHEREAS, In 1851, William Ogden, the first Mayor of
16Chicago and leading investor in the Illinois Central Railroad
17Company, purchased the property from the Bailly family for
18five dollars an acre; and
 
19    WHEREAS, In 1853, the Village of Monee was platted for
20founder August Herbert, who had obtained 160 acres in 1849
21under a land warrant granted to him for services in the Mexican

 

 

HR0553- 2 -LRB103 37132 LAW 67251 r

1War; he then sold a tract of 40 acres of his initial 160 to the
2Illinois Central Railroad Company, which was also platted,
3with both tracts of land forming the Village of Monee; and
 
4    WHEREAS, That same year, the Illinois Central Railroad
5established a station at Monee, and that station led to the
6growth of the town, which soon boasted a general store, a
7schoolhouse, and a grain warehouse with several elevators; and
 
8    WHEREAS, A little over two decades later, the Village of
9Monee was incorporated on November 9, 1874; and
 
10    WHEREAS, In 1905, the Village of Monee hosted its first
11Monee District Fair, which later evolved into the annual Fall
12Fest, the Monee Review newspaper was established, and a new
13schoolhouse was constructed; and
 
14    WHEREAS, In the 1950s, the Village of Monee's fire
15department purchased land, which would eventually become
16Firemen's Park, the American Legion Auxiliary established a
17post, the first elementary school was built, Crete-Monee High
18School was constructed and started classes, gas lines were
19introduced, the construction of Interstate 57 was announced,
20and the current post office opened; and
 
21    WHEREAS, In 1974, the Village of Monee celebrated its

 

 

HR0553- 3 -LRB103 37132 LAW 67251 r

1centennial with a number of events and activities, including a
2parade, a play, the publication of a historical book, and the
3burial of a time capsule; and
 
4    WHEREAS, In 2016, the Village of Monee's Monee Creamery
5was granted Will County landmark status for it being one of the
6last creamery structures in the county constructed out of
7local Lockport limestone, achieving said status thanks to the
8efforts made by the Save the Creamery Foundation, which
9evolved into the Monee Historical Society; and
 
10    WHEREAS, With over 5,000 residents, multiple local and
11global businesses, and the cohesive Monee's Alliance of
12Churches (MAC), the Village of Monee has ample reason to
13commemorate the achievements and legacy of the past 150 years,
14while also eagerly anticipating the promising future that lies
15ahead; therefore, be it
 
16    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
17HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
18we congratulate the Village of Monee on the 150th anniversary
19of its founding; and be it further
 
20    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
21presented to the Village of Monee and the Monee Historical
22Society as an expression of our esteem and respect.