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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, In 1818, the area of the present Village of
3 Baileyville was inhabited by various Indian tribes; 3 years
4 before the Blackhawk War in 1832, Thomas Crane built a log
5 cabin about one half mile north of the current village, and a
6 small settlement developed there called Cranes Grove, which
7 included a stage coach stop, provided a change of horses and
8 care for travelers headed for Galena and its lead mines; and
 
9     WHEREAS, By 1853 the Illinois Central Railroad had
10 completed a railroad line which ran about one half mile east of
11 Cranes Grove Tavern and the settlement eventually shifted to
12 the railroad to what is now the location of the Village of
13 Baileyville; by 1852 three brothers from Vermont had arrived in
14 the area, Orville, Ransom, and Samuel Bailey, and decided to
15 purchase land in the northwest area of Forreston Township on
16 the northern most border of Ogle County; and
 
17     WHEREAS, The brothers began to manufacture farm machinery
18 and are credited with the building of the first self-binder
19 called "The Morse Self Binder"; by 1855 the Illinois Central
20 Railroad had completed the north/south line through
21 Baileyville; M. H. Philbrick was appointed the first station
22 agent, and soon built a store, a part of which became the
23 Baileyville post office with Orville Bailey serving as the

 

 

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1 first postmaster; in 1858 the Village was formally plotted and
2 laid out; and
 
3     WHEREAS, The name of Cranes Grove was changed to
4 Baileyville due to the active presence of the Bailey Brothers;
5 by 1858 the village consisted of a hotel, two blacksmith shops,
6 two physicians, a lumber yard, two creameries, a tailor, a
7 harness maker, two taverns, a stockyard. a butcher, a grain
8 mill, two churches, and a two-story school house and had a
9 population of about 200; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Baileyville's two churches, the Baileyville
11 Baptist Church and the Baileyville Reformed Church, have played
12 and important part of the village's history; the Baptist Church
13 was organized in 1856 at Diddens Schoolhouse; services were
14 held there until 1874 when their first church building was
15 erected in Baileyville; the Baileyville Reformed Church was
16 organized on October 29, 1884; the newly organized church was
17 able to purchase the already existing Methodist Church when the
18 Methodist congregation decided to leave Baileyville; and
 
19     WHEREAS, East-west train lines were run through Freeport to
20 the Village's north and through Forreston to the south, and the
21 Village did not grow and was never incorporated; as of March
22 2007, about 200 people live in Baileyville; there is still a
23 post office, some historic homes, and several businesses; it

 

 

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1 remains a good place to live, and a good place to raise a
2 family; therefore, be it
 
3     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
4 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
5 congratulate the people of Baileyville on the sesquicentennial
6 of their community and wish them continued success; and be it
7 further
 
8     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
9 presented to the people of Baileyville as a symbol of our
10 respect.