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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate the City of Albion on the
4bicentennial anniversary of its founding; and
 
5    WHEREAS, In 1816, George Flower and Morris Birkbeck,
6affluent Englishmen, sought to immigrate to America from
7England to form a colony that prized independence and political
8representation; after traveling through Pennsylvania, Ohio,
9New York, and Tennessee, the pair became convinced that the
10prairies of Edwards County were the best place for an English
11settlement; and
 
12    WHEREAS, In March of 1818, the first party of 88 immigrants
13embarked from Bristol, England; a month later, a second group
14of more than 60 immigrants departed aboard a chartered ship; a
15rift that had developed between Birkbeck and Flower divided the
16settlers into two factions; as a result, two settlements,
17Albion and Wanborough, developed two miles apart from one
18another; and
 
19    WHEREAS, The settlements grew quickly, and in 1821, the
20county seat of Edwards County was moved from Palmyra to Albion,
21cementing the town's influence and securing its future; this
22move was not without controversy, as the residents of nearby

 

 

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1Mount Carmel felt their town should be the county seat and
2marched their militia toward Albion to seize the documents
3stored in the courthouse; this situation was eventually
4resolved with the creation of Wabash County; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Morris Birkbeck was instrumental in consolidating
6anti-slavery forces in Illinois; he wrote numerous editorials
7in newspapers through the region under the pen name Jonathan
8Freeman to ensure that Illinois remained a free state; in 1824,
9Edward Coles, a London native who became the second Governor of
10the State of Illinois, appointed his friend Birkbeck as the
11Secretary of State of Illinois; Morris Birkbeck held that
12office until his death a year later; and
 
13    WHEREAS, Morris Birkbeck's death, along with the
14competition from Albion, devastated the town of Wanborough, and
15it was abandoned by 1840; all that remains of the settlement is
16a historic cemetery; and
 
17    WHEREAS, Today, Albion has a population of approximately
181,900, many businesses, the Edwards County High School, and a
19variety of historic sites, including the pagoda on the
20courthouse square, which was originally built to protect the
21town's mineral well; and
 
22    WHEREAS, Albion is home to the Edwards County Fairgrounds

 

 

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1and the Edwards County Fair, where residents enjoy harness
2racing, midway games, carnival rides, a demolition derby, and
3livestock shows; and
 
4    WHEREAS, The Albion Library is the oldest public library in
5Illinois and dates back to 1819; the library provides free
6services to the residents of Albion and has been in its current
7location since 1922; and
 
8    WHEREAS, Several notable figures have called Albion home,
9including Louis Emmerson, the 29th Governor of Illinois, H.H.
10Kohlstaat, a newspaper publisher and advisor to five United
11States Presidents, Jeff Keener, a pitcher for the St. Louis
12Cardinals, Harold Basset, a United States Air Force Major
13General, and Harold Garman, a United States Army Medic and
14Medal of Honor recipient; therefore, be it
 
15    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
16HUNDREDTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
17congratulate the City of Albion on their bicentennial
18anniversary and celebrate the many contributions the citizens
19of Albion have made throughout the history of the State of
20Illinois; and be it further
 
21    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
22presented to the City of Albion as an expression of our esteem

 

 

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1and respect.