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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to congratulate the citizens of the
4 City of Wood River on the occasion of the city's 100th
5 anniversary; and
 
6     WHEREAS, The history of Wood River began in the winter of
7 1803-04, when Meriwether Lewis and William Clark set up their
8 headquarters at Camp Du Bois, at the mouth of Wood River, in
9 preparation for their famous expedition; and
 
10     WHEREAS, Throughout the 19th century, the Wood River valley
11 remained mostly empty, except for railroad tracks and scattered
12 farms; interest was renewed in the area in 1907, when the
13 Standard Oil Refinery arrived in the Wood River valley; the
14 factory, which produced kerosene, fuel oil, paraffin, asphalt,
15 and eventually gasoline, attracted large numbers of settlers
16 who wished to work there; the same year, A.E. Benbow, a local
17 entrepreneur, founded Benbow City to accommodate those
18 workers; and
 
19     WHEREAS, In 1908, the City of Wood River was incorporated
20 and developed around Benbow City; after the merger of Wood
21 River and East Wood River in 1911, Benbow City was annexed in
22 1917, creating the modern City of Wood River; and
 

 

 

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1     WHEREAS, The City of Wood River became one of the fastest
2 growing communities in the country, containing more factory
3 workers than houses by the 1920s; many Sears and Roebuck
4 catalog homes were ordered by Standard Oil to accommodate the
5 burgeoning demand; and
 
6     WHEREAS, In 1957, The Standard Oil Refinery was modernized,
7 making the Wood River Refinery one of the leading industries in
8 the area, with chemical additives added to the list of consumer
9 products shipped from Wood River; and
 
10     WHEREAS, After the closing of Amoco Oil Company's oil
11 refining operations at Wood River Refinery in 1980 and the
12 closing of the Wood River plant in 1995, the citizens of Wood
13 River were forced to make many changes to their local economy,
14 a feat they pursued with spectacular efficiency; and
 
15     WHEREAS, In celebration of the city's 100th anniversary,
16 the citizens of Wood River have planned numerous events
17 throughout the year of 2008, including a fireworks display at
18 Belk Park, an ice cream social in Central Park, and the
19 Downtown Croatian-Italian Fall Festival; and
 
20     WHEREAS, The great prosperity and growth that the City of
21 Wood River has enjoyed is a direct result of the hard work and

 

 

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1 dedication of its fine citizens; therefore, be it
 
2     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
3 NINETY-FIFTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
4 congratulate the citizens of the City of Wood River on the
5 occasion of the city's 100th anniversary and wish them
6 continued success and happiness in the future; and be it
7 further
 
8     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
9 presented to Wood River Mayor Fred Ufert as a symbol of our
10 esteem and respect.