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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate the residents of
4 Foster Township on the 150th anniversary of their township on
5 August 18 and 19, 2007; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Foster Township is situated in the northwestern
7 portion of Madison County, bounded on the north by Jersey and
8 Macoupin counties, on the east by Moro Township, on the south
9 by Alton and Wood River Townships, and on the west by Godfrey
10 Township; and
 
11     WHEREAS, Foster Township was named for Oliver Foster, a
12 veteran of the War of 1812; Foster and his family arrived at
13 Shawneetown on January 1, 1819, then continued on to
14 Edwardsville, then Upper Alton; being a skilled mechanic,
15 Foster erected the Foster Inn, the finest building in the
16 township; the inn's location on the Springfield Road, the
17 regular stagecoach route from Alton to Springfield, made the
18 inn a popular stopping place for travelers as well as a relay
19 station where fresh horses were obtained for the next lap of
20 the journey; Abraham Lincoln and other prominent persons of the
21 era stayed at the Foster Inn when the stagecoach made an
22 overnight stop; the Foster family property was sold following
23 the death of Mrs. Foster in August 1866; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, Oliver P. Foster, son of Oliver Foster, surveyed
2 the land for the original 4 blocks of the town of Foster on
3 September 28, 1857; the plat for the town of Foster was
4 recorded by Oliver P. and Lucinda Foster on October 12, 1857;
5 the town was renamed Fosterburg in 1858; the first residence
6 built in Foster belonged to Ransom Chandler, son of early
7 settler Martin Chandler; and
 
8     WHEREAS, The first school house in Foster Township is
9 believed to have been a log school house built on the farm of
10 Green Short in 1833; subsequent schools include Ingersoll
11 School, which was started in 1856, Heiens and Fosterburg
12 Schools, which were built in 1858, Werts School, which was
13 built in 1859, Sherfy School, which was built in 1860, Luman
14 School, and Bockstruck School; Fosterburg School was destroyed
15 by a tornado in 1948, which led to a new school being built in
16 1949; Fosterburg and Werts Schools were consolidated during the
17 summer of 1949; on August 28, 1950, the Fosterburg, Heiens, and
18 Ingersoll-Sherfy districts were placed into Alton Consolidated
19 School District 151; after an election in 1952, Alton School
20 District 151 became Alton Community School District No. 11 and
21 two remaining schools, Woods and Bockstruck, were closed; and
 
22     WHEREAS, Following Madison County's adoption of a township
23 form of government in 1876, the first town meeting was held in

 

 

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1 the town of Foster at the office of J.H. Mueller on April 4,
2 1876; and
 
3     WHEREAS, The original Foster town hall was built in 1908 on
4 land donated by William R. Eddington, a Civil War veteran, from
5 property purchased from H. G. Bassett; Eddington also donated
6 the materials to construct the hall, with members of the
7 community donating their labor to construct the building; the
8 old hall was used for a variety of activities, including box
9 socials, Christmas programs, church services, school programs,
10 and as a polling place for elections; the hall was completely
11 destroyed in the 1948 tornado; in 1954, a new basement was
12 constructed, just north of the old site, which was used until
13 1975; a new town hall building of double steel wall
14 construction was erected at the west end of Main Street; the
15 new town hall's dedication ceremony was held on June 29, 1975;
16 and
 
17     WHEREAS, Foster Township has had a long history of economic
18 growth; the Rockford, Rock Island, & St. Louis Railroad Company
19 purchased right-of-way through the township in 1870 and began
20 construction of a new railroad; the rail lines were bought by
21 the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad in 1876, and were
22 used to haul limestone to its many customers; many small
23 coalmines were operated in the township from the 1850's until
24 the early 1940's; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, The first Postal Service in Foster Township was
2 established in the stagecoach era; the office was located at
3 the Foster Inn, with John Nichols as postmaster; the stage
4 would travel over the Hillsborough and Staunton Post Road,
5 leaving Hillsboro and arriving in Alton; an application was
6 made for a post office for the town of Foster in 1858; since
7 there was another office in the state by that name, the town's
8 named was changed to Fosterburg; Rural Free Delivery was begun
9 in 1896; and
 
10     WHEREAS, The Fosterburg Telephone System was established
11 in 1903 when the right-of-way was signed with the St. Clair and
12 Eastern Telephone Company; the telephone line was known as the
13 Star Line and ran from Fosterburg to Alton; the company's
14 office and equipment were destroyed in the 1948 tornado;
15 negotiations were begun with Illinois Bell Telephone Company
16 and the line was completed and service was renewed in 1949; and
 
17     WHEREAS, Volunteers from Foster Township made up the larger
18 part of Company K of the 80th Illinois Regiment, which fought
19 in many Civil War battles; and
 
20     WHEREAS, The Fosterburg Water District began in 1965 when
21 concern over surface water entering the well at Fosterburg
22 Elementary School prompted the principal, Clifford E. Tinsley,

 

 

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1 to call Dr. J. B. Johnson, Superintendent of Alton School
2 District #11, to discuss water service for the Fosterburg area;
3 however, as word spread, the areas of Dorsey, Prairietown,
4 Midway, Deerfield, and areas west of Fosterburg were included;
5 the district grew to encompass approximately 94 square miles; a
6 public election was held on November 25, 1967, which resulted
7 in the establishment of the Fosterburg Water District by a
8 court order on January 2, 1968; the first official meeting of
9 the District was held on February 1, 1968, with Principal
10 Tinsley presiding; and
 
11     WHEREAS, The Fosterburg Fire Department was formed in 1971
12 and officially went into operation on August 8, 1971, with a
13 call-out list of 30 men under the direction of Chief Charles
14 Miller; in September 1971, the Fosterburg Firemen's Ladies
15 Auxiliary was formed by the wives of the firemen; the fire
16 department moved into their new 6 bay brick firehouse in May
17 1979; and
 
18     WHEREAS, The citizens of Foster Township are grateful to
19 its early pioneers and settlers for their important role in
20 founding the township and continue to take great pride in the
21 township's natural and historic treasures; therefore, be it
 
22     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
23 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we

 

 

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1 congratulate the residents of Foster Township on the 150th
2 anniversary of their township and wish them many more happy and
3 successful years to come; and be it further
 
4     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
5 presented to a representative of Foster Township as a symbol of
6 our esteem and respect.