HR0461 LRB094 12423 CSA 46750 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The Village of Livingston marks its 100th
3 anniversary in 2005; and
 
4     WHEREAS, Livingston was incorporated in 1905; and
 
5     WHEREAS, In the late 1890s-1900s, William Bennett had
6 businesses on the prairie of Olive Township in northern Madison
7 County; he operated a cane and grist mill, blacksmith shop,
8 woodworking shop, and several homes; this was the first
9 settling of a community that later became Livingston; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Coal was found on the property of the Livingston
11 family; a mine was sunk, coal was mined, and the Big "4" built
12 a railroad along the mine site; and
 
13     WHEREAS, The population grew and the new residents were
14 from Italy, France, Germany, British Isles, and the
15 Austrian-Hungarian area with the Balkan States; and
 
16     WHEREAS, There were people from the mine waiting at the
17 train station to recruit miners as they left the train; these
18 men brought their families from Europe; houses were needed,
19 churches were built, and the mine operated a company store;
20 people of prosperity opened a bank and a post office was
21 established; many of the new residents were not miners; some
22 opened saloons, pool halls, boarding houses, diners, and even
23 movie houses, and bootleggers were in abundance; in 1926, a
24 resident requested a license to broadcast from Livingston but
25 nothing developed; and
 
26     WHEREAS, Schools were established and the children of these
27 immigrants were the first pupils; times were good, but then the
28 coal started to give out and unrest developed; World War I took
29 many of the young men and they saw the world and went on to

 

 

HR0461 - 2 - LRB094 12423 CSA 46750 r

1 bigger things; World War II changed the community again;
2 residents left to serve in the war effort and never returned,
3 and the Village deteriorated; after World War II, Route 66 was
4 built and several small filling stations and restaurants
5 opened, but because the Village was located between Springfield
6 and St. Louis, Missouri, no businesses came to town; Route 66
7 became Interstate 55, and now the Village is a bedroom
8 community with a Grade School; the Junior High and High School
9 students are bussed to Staunton; and
 
10     WHEREAS, The Village of Livingston is like so many
11 communities in Illinois in that it is struggling to stay alive,
12 but it is still a good place to live; therefore, be it
 
13     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
14 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
15 we congratulate the Village of Livingston on the occasion of
16 its 100th anniversary; and be it further
 
17     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18 presented to the Village of Livingston as an expression of our
19 esteem and best wishes for the future.