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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate the Village of Cambridge
4on its dodransbicentennial anniversary (175 years) on June 9,
52018; and
 
6    WHEREAS, The Village of Cambridge was established on June
79, 1843 by the Rev. Ithamar Pillsbury, who was well known in
8the early history of the New York and New England colonies; on
9April 19, 1843, Rev. Pillsbury deeded fractional parts of two
1040-acre lots to the Board of County Commissioners at a special
11meeting; and
 
12    WHEREAS, On June 9, 1843, the court proceeded to lay out
13the town of Cambridge, a name suggested by Judge Tillson, and
14ordered a sale of lots to take place on June 26, 1843 - the two
15lots were approximately 36 acres each; lots were sold to
16incoming immigrants coming from New York and New England, roads
17were laid out, postal routes established, and people were
18invited to move there; and
 
19    WHEREAS, The original settlers derived entirely from New
20England or upstate New York, where many families were only one
21generation removed from settling in upstate New York following
22the Revolutionary War, thereby making Henry County very

 

 

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1culturally contiguous with New England; and
 
2    WHEREAS, On September 5, 1843, the court contracted with
3several Cambridge residents to have the Henry County Courthouse
4moved from Morristown to Cambridge where they were awarded $10
5and the use of the house for schools and other public purposes
6when not in use for the courts, for the term of three years;
7and
 
8    WHEREAS, The courthouse building was placed on runners and
9in two days hauled or moved by ox teams to Cambridge, a
10distance of 12 miles, and placed at the southeast corner of
11College Square, making Cambridge the county seat of Henry
12County; and
 
13    WHEREAS, The present courthouse, a Victorian structure of
14brick with stone, was started in 1866 and completed in 1880, at
15a cost of $77,147; the courthouse was listed on the National
16Register of Historic Places in 2004; and
 
17    WHEREAS, The first building erected in the new county seat
18was a small unhewn log house constructed by John Russell,
19commonly known as "Lord John", and was used as a blacksmith
20shop; and
 
21    WHEREAS, Today, Cambridge has a population of nearly 2,200,

 

 

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1is home to 90 businesses, including CSI (modular home builder),
2Michlig Grain and Michlig Energy (grain drying, sale of liquid
3propane, gasoline and diesel fuels), and Gold Star Agriculture
4Services (seed, fertilizer, spraying and fuels); it is the
5county seat of Henry County and has the State's only asphalt
6plant owned and operated by a county government; and
 
7    WHEREAS, For the past 159 years, the Village of Cambridge
8has been the home to the Henry County Fair, where residents
9compete with their neighbors showing their animals and enjoy
10country entertainment, demolition derbies, and the Henry
11County Fair Queen Contest; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Cambridge is proud to have the Gold Star FS
13Corporate Office located in their community along with the
14Henry County Farm Bureau, which just celebrated 101 years of
15service; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The Cambridge School District includes an
17elementary school, junior high school, and senior high school;
18like many small communities, the community revolves around arts
19and sports practiced at the school; in 2006, the elementary
20school was one of only 18 Illinois schools selected as a Blue
21Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Cambridge has five public parks offering sports,

 

 

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1recreation, and activities for its residents; and
 
2    WHEREAS, Several notable figures have called Cambridge
3their home, including John Hughes (the original Lone Ranger),
4Dan Halldorson (PGA Golfer), John Hand (Chief Justice of the
5Illinois Supreme Court), George Allen Neeves (member of the
6Wisconsin State Assembly), and Charles Wennerstrum (Justice of
7the Iowa Supreme Court); and
 
8    WHEREAS, With a village motto of "Where Agriculture,
9Business, and Education Come Together", the Village of
10Cambridge is well poised for the next 175 years; therefore, be
11it
 
12    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
13HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
14join the many friends of the Village of Cambridge in
15congratulating them on their dodransbicentennial celebration
16and we wish them continued good fortune; and be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18presented to the Village of Cambridge as an expression of our
19esteem and respect for their many accomplishments.