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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The city of DeKalb celebrates the 150th
3 anniversary of its founding this year; and
 
4     WHEREAS, Vermont native Russell Huntley arrived in the area
5 in 1837 and is considered the founder of DeKalb; he was soon
6 followed by his brother, Lewis; the area was originally known
7 as Huntley's Grove, then Buena Vista, DeKalb Centre, and
8 finally DeKalb; Russell Huntley was the first Postmaster; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Russell and Lewis Huntley surveyed and platted the
10 village with the coming of the Galena and Chicago Union
11 Railroad in 1853; in 1856 the town was organized as a city
12 under the general act of the legislature of the State of
13 Illinois; there have been a total of 26 mayors since 1877; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Joseph F. Glidden and his brothers arrived in
15 1842, in search of new, productive farmlands; Mr. Glidden and
16 another farmer, Jacob Haish, each independently developed a
17 wire fence using barbs to confine animals and keep them out of
18 their crops; on November 24, 1874, Mr. Glidden received U.S.
19 Patent 157124 for his invention known as "the winner", which
20 would help settle the west; DeKalb has been known ever since as
21 the "Barb City"; Mr. Glidden and hardware merchant Isaac
22 Ellwood would form the Barb Fence Company that grew into the
23 American Steel and Wire Company and produced barbed wire and
24 other steel products in DeKalb for over half a century; and
 
25     WHEREAS, DeKalb's rich agricultural soils and innovative
26 farmers led to the creation of the DeKalb County Soil
27 Improvement Association in 1912, forerunner of the DeKalb
28 County Farm Bureau, the first such group of its kind in the
29 nation; there soon followed the DeKalb County Agricultural
30 Association, which in 1934 marketed the first hybrid seed corn;
31 this company went on to become DeKalb Genetics Corporation, now

 

 

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1 a division of Monsanto Corporation; and
 
2     WHEREAS, The DeKalb County Agricultural Association,
3 located in DeKalb, also went on to market the first hybrid
4 wheat and sorghum and played a major role in the use of
5 biotechnology for corn and soybean seed trait development; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Religious denominations began organizing in the
7 early 1840s; among the congregations formed in the 19th century
8 were the Baptists, Congregationalists, Catholics, Swedish
9 (First) Lutherans, Adventists, Methodists, Episcopalians,
10 Bethlehem (Finnish) Lutherans, and Christian Scientists; many
11 others have followed; and
 
12     WHEREAS, The banking firm of Hamlin & Hunt commenced
13 operations in 1859; its direct successors included Rufus
14 Hopkins & Company, Lott & Baird, J.D. Lott & Company, DeKalb
15 National Bank, First National Bank of DeKalb, First National
16 Bank in DeKalb, and Castle Bank (started in Sandwich in 1856);
17 and
 
18     WHEREAS, Today's Daily Chronicle newspaper was first
19 published on March 8, 1879, under Editor Clinton Rosette;
20 Joseph F. Glidden subsequently acquired ownership, and it has
21 been in continuous operation for 127 years; and
 
22     WHEREAS, DeKalb has had a fire department since 1869 and a
23 police department since 1885; the DeKalb Public Library was
24 established in 1893; and
 
25     WHEREAS, The Illinois Legislature approved the passage of a
26 bill in 1895 creating the Northern Illinois State Normal
27 School, which would be located in DeKalb; it became Northern
28 Illinois University in 1957 and is noted for excellence in
29 teaching, discovery, and outreach; more than 25,000 students
30 study there and nearly 200,000 alumni call NIU their alma

 

 

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1 mater; and
 
2     WHEREAS, DeKalb has had its medical needs served over the
3 years by a series of public and private hospitals; these have
4 included St. Mary's Hospital (1922-1966), Glidden
5 Memorial/DeKalb Public (1922-1975), and Kishwaukee Community
6 Hospital (since December 27, 1975); a new state-of-the-art
7 hospital is currently under construction; and
 
8     WHEREAS, The Joseph F. Glidden House & Barn, Ellwood House,
9 Egyptian Theatre, Gurler House, and DeKalb Public (Haish
10 Memorial) Library are all listed on the National Register of
11 Historic Places; and
 
12     WHEREAS, The DeKalb Park District was established in 1935,
13 and now administers 46 facilities for public enjoyment; the
14 President of the Park District, David Mason, serves as 2006
15 chairman of the Illinois Park District Board of Trustees;
16 summer concerts are given at Hopkins Park by the DeKalb
17 Municipal Band, organized in 1854; the Park District was the
18 winner in 2003 of a National Gold Medal Award for Excellence in
19 Parks & Recreation presented in St. Louis at the NRPA Congress
20 annual meeting; therefore, be it
 
21     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
22 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
23 we recognize the 150th anniversary of the city of DeKalb; and
24 be it further
 
25     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
26 presented to the city of DeKalb as an expression of our esteem.