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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The village of Colfax will celebrate its 125th
3 anniversary this year; and
 
4     WHEREAS, Colfax is located in the northeast corner of
5 Martin Township, in sections two and three; the northern limit
6 of the village stretches to the southern boundary of the
7 neighboring township of Lawndale; and
 
8     WHEREAS, Settlement in that part of McLean County was
9 somewhat slower than it was in other areas; William G.
10 Anderson, who came to be known as "Uncle Billy" to his many
11 friends, soon became one of the leading citizens of Martin
12 Township and McLean County; he spent considerable time and
13 effort in promoting the development of the village of Colfax;
14 he helped sell the idea of constructing a road through Martin
15 Township to the Clinton, Bloomington, Northeastern Railroad
16 Company, a branch of the Illinois Central; and
 
17     WHEREAS, The first train arrived in Colfax on July 4, 1880;
18 after the railroad reached Colfax, the success of the village
19 was almost assured; businessmen began to locate there at about
20 the same time that the railroad was completed; and
 
21     WHEREAS, The first business firm to open in Colfax was the
22 William Rinke Grocery Store; it opened in 1879, and the second
23 business to begin operation was the Wilson and Santte Grocery
24 Store; the third business in Colfax was founded by Dr. M.A.
25 Green; he was the first person to construct a combination store
26 and office building in the town; he intended to set up practice
27 and also open a grocery, dry goods, and drug store to be
28 managed by his brother, William Green; and
 
29     WHEREAS, The survey to lay out lots for the village of
30 Colfax was completed on March 22, 1880, on land owned by

 

 

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1 William G. Anderson; the location was an elegant place for a
2 town, especially during the few years when the railroad
3 terminated there; the town grew rapidly; the greatest single
4 influence on this growth was the discovery of deposits of coal
5 under the town and the opening up of mines to extract the
6 "black diamonds"; and
 
7     WHEREAS, In 1880, the year in which the village of Colfax
8 was laid out, the entire population of Martin Township was
9 1,026; in 1890, the census report did not yet record the
10 village population separately, but the township population was
11 given as 1,428; and
 
12     WHEREAS, By a vote of 47 to 31, cast on December 15, 1881,
13 the citizens decided to incorporate the village; around the
14 turn of the century, Colfax was growing so rapidly that houses
15 could not be built fast enough; many new citizens were forced
16 to live in tents until better facilities could be secured; in
17 1900, the village had a population of 1,153; therefore, be it
 
18     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
19 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
20 we congratulate the village of Colfax on the occasion of its
21 125th anniversary; and be it further
 
22     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
23 presented to the village of Colfax as an expression of our
24 esteem and with best wishes for future prosperity.