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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate Fayette County on the
4occasion of its 200th anniversary; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Fayette County was established from Bond, Wayne,
6Clark, Crawford and Jefferson counties on February 14, 1821,
7becoming Illinois' 18th county; it was named in honor of Marie
8Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, the Marquis de
9Lafayette, the famous French general who fought for the
10colonies in the Revolutionary War; it was formed as necessary
11for Vandalia, having been selected as the second capital of
12the State, to be located within a county with suitable
13dimensions; and
 
14    WHEREAS, Vandalia was the home to three of the State's
15capitol buildings from 1819 to 1839, including the Vandalia
16State House, which was built in 1836 and was the fourth capitol
17building of Illinois; and
 
18    WHEREAS, Abraham Lincoln, elected from Sangamon County,
19arrived in Vandalia to take his seat in the legislature on
20November 29, 1834, where he first formulated his thoughts on
21slavery and served until the capitol moved to Springfield in
22March 1839; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, The National Road, proposed by Thomas Jefferson
2in 1803 and authorized by Congress in 1806, began in
3Cumberland, Maryland in 1811 and ended in Vandalia in 1837; it
4served as an important escape route for slaves seeking freedom
5through the Underground Railroad, with 24 stations located
6across Fayette, Greene, Washington, and Westmoreland counties
7serving as stops along the way; and
 
8    WHEREAS, The 705.5-mile Illinois Central Railroad was
9joined by a golden spike one mile south of Ramsey on January 5,
101855, officially opening the then-longest railroad in the
11world; and
 
12    WHEREAS, Fayette County was home to three men, all
13Democrats, who attained political heights in Illinois
14government; of the three, two had deep family roots in the
15county; William M. Farmer, born near Shobonier, was elected to
16the House of Representatives in 1891 and named to the Illinois
17Supreme Court in 1906, where he served on the bench for 25
18years; Arthur Roe, born in Shafter, was elected to the House of
19Representatives in 1913 and served as Speaker of the House
20from 1933 to 1935; Don E. Brummet, having moved to Vandalia in
211939, was elected to four terms in the House of
22Representatives from 1971 to 1979; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Fayette County is the final resting place of 12
2veterans of the American Revolution, James Starrett Carson,
3James Cheshier, Samuel Davis, Henry Ginger, Wooten Harris,
4Benjamin Jones, Thomas Mahon, Isaac Martin, John Morrell,
5Benjamin Todd, James Verden, and Henry Walker, and their
6heroic service created a nation; and
 
7    WHEREAS, Fayette County is the only county in the State
8whose courthouse was once a private residence; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Fayette County is home to four locations listed
10on the National Registry of Historic Places; the Floyd and
11Glenora Dycus House, located at 305 S. Second Street in
12Brownstown, was listed on March 2, 2001; the First
13Presbyterian Church, located at 301 W. Main Street in
14Vandalia, was listed on March 24, 1982; the Little Brick
15House, located at 621 St. Clair Street in Vandalia, was listed
16on June 4, 1973; the Historic Vandalia Statehouse, located at
17315 W. Gallatin in Vandalia, was listed on January 21, 1974;
18and
 
19    WHEREAS, Fayette County is divided into 20 townships,
20which are Avena, Bear Grove, Bowling Green, Carson, Kaskaskia,
21LaClede, Lone Grove, Loudon, North Hurricane, Otego, Pope,
22Ramsey, Sefton, Seminary, Shafter, Sharon, South Hurricane,
23Vandalia, Wheatland, and Wilberton; it is home to the cities

 

 

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1of St. Elmo and Vandalia; it includes the villages of Bingham,
2Brownstown, Farina, Ramsey, and St. Peter; it also includes
3the unincorporated communities of Augsburg, Avena, Bayle City,
4Bluff City, Confidence, Dressor, Hagarstown, Loogootee,
5Pittsburg, Shafter, Shobonier, Saint Paul, and Vera; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Fayette County will celebrate its 200th
7anniversary at the Bicentennial Open House hosted by the
8Fayette County Genealogical and Historical Society at the
9Fayette County Museum on June 12, 2021; therefore, be it
 
10    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
11HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
12we congratulate the County of Fayette on the occasion of its
13200th year; and be it further
 
14    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
15presented to the Fayette County Genealogical and Historical
16Society as an expression of our esteem and respect.