Full Text of HR0338 102nd General Assembly
HR0338 102ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, Lawrence County was formed on January 16, 1821 | 3 | | out of land from Crawford and Edwards Counties; it was named | 4 | | for Captain James Lawrence who was killed in action during the | 5 | | War of 1812 while commanding the frigate ship USS Chesapeake | 6 | | and who is especially remembered for giving his men the famous | 7 | | last order "Don't Give Up the Ship"; and
| 8 | | WHEREAS, The history of Lawrence County includes the | 9 | | George Rogers Clark march during the American Revolution | 10 | | across the land that would eventually become the county; | 11 | | Native American Shawnee Chief Tecumseh traveled through its | 12 | | forests, and future U.S. President Abraham Lincoln and his | 13 | | family migrated to Illinois crossing over the Wabash River | 14 | | into Lawrence County; and
| 15 | | WHEREAS, On February 18, 1779, George Rogers Clark and his | 16 | | ragged band of soldiers passed through Lawrence County, | 17 | | crossing the Wabash River at St. Francisville, and conquered | 18 | | the Vincennes fort on February 25; and
| 19 | | WHEREAS, Settlers of French, Scottish, and Irish descent | 20 | | are said to have built quietly and with determination for the | 21 | | future in the county; historical records indicate that shortly | 22 | | after 1800, John Morris, a free Black man, traveled to |
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| 1 | | Lawrence County with the Samuel Allison family and became one | 2 | | of the inhabitants of Fort Allison, located at the present | 3 | | site of Russellville; other free Black people and their | 4 | | families followed, including the families of Morris, Anderson, | 5 | | Tann, Goins, Cole, Portee, Casey, Byrd, Day, Pettiford, | 6 | | Russell, Blackwell, and Jones; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, In March of 1830, the Lincoln Family crossed the | 8 | | Wabash River into Illinois by ox-teamed wagons; the family | 9 | | included 21-year-old Abraham, his father Thomas, his | 10 | | step-mother Sarah Bush Lincoln, and her two daughters and | 11 | | sons-in-law; later, Abraham Lincoln would visit Lawrence | 12 | | County and the courthouse as a practicing attorney; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, Lawrence County is noted for being the first | 14 | | Illinois county to hang a woman; Mrs. Elizabeth Reed of | 15 | | Crawford County was hanged on May 23, 1845 for murdering her | 16 | | husband, Leonard Reed, by arsenic poison; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, The first volunteer recruits requested by | 18 | | President Abraham Lincoln for Civil War service came from | 19 | | Lawrence County; men from Lawrence County served in various | 20 | | Illinois Infantry regiments, including the 8th Regiment, | 21 | | Illinois Infantry, Company I, 36th Regiment, Company C, 61st | 22 | | Regiment, Companies H and K, 62nd Regiment, Company A, 66th | 23 | | Regiment, Company I, 70th Regiment, Company K, 91st Regiment, |
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| 1 | | Company F, 130th Regiment, Company I, and 154th Regiment, | 2 | | Company E; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, Crude oil was discovered in Lawrence County in | 4 | | the early 1900s and created an economic boom for the area, | 5 | | including the establishment of the Indian Refining Company, | 6 | | later acquired by the Texas Company (TEXACO); the chemists at | 7 | | the Lawrenceville refinery of the Indian Refining Company | 8 | | patented the first "wax free" oil under the Havoline brand, | 9 | | which is currently the standard for all conventional motor | 10 | | oils throughout the world; and
| 11 | | WHEREAS, During World War II, the United States Army Air | 12 | | Corps base, George Field, was built in Lawrence County, | 13 | | located five miles east, northeast of Lawrenceville; it | 14 | | operated as part of an advanced pilot training school of | 15 | | 70,000 for the U.S. Army Air Forces from 1942 until 1945; | 16 | | initially named Lawrence Army Flying School, the name was | 17 | | changed to honor General Harold H. George who was killed in a | 18 | | ground accident at Batchelor Field, southeast of Darwin, | 19 | | Australia, on April 29, 1942; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Lawrence | 21 | | County has a total area of 374 square miles, 372 square miles | 22 | | of land and 2 square miles of water; according to the 2010 | 23 | | census, it had a population of 16,833; and
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| 1 | | WHEREAS, Lawrence County includes the cities of | 2 | | Bridgeport, Lawrenceville (the county seat), St. Francisville, | 3 | | and Sumner, the village of Russellville, and the | 4 | | unincorporated communities of Billett, Birds, Chauncey, | 5 | | Helena, Petrolia, Pinkstaff,
Sand Barrens, and Westport; the | 6 | | county also includes the nine townships of Allison, Bond, | 7 | | Bridgeport, Christy, Denison, Lawrence, Lukin, Petty, and | 8 | | Russell; and
| 9 | | WHEREAS, Lawrence County currently boasts two entries on | 10 | | the U.S. National Register of Historic Places; the first is | 11 | | The Lawrenceville County Courthouse at 1100 State Street, | 12 | | which was built in 1888–89 and was added to the Register on | 13 | | December 7, 2010; the second is the Wabash Cannonball Bridge | 14 | | at Thirteenth Street, also known as the Wooden Bridge, which | 15 | | was built in 1909 and added to the Register on April 26, 2016; | 16 | | and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, The current major employers in Lawrence County | 18 | | include Toyota Boshoku, Kauffman Engineering, United | 19 | | Healthcare, Rucker's Candy, and Wagner-Smith Equipment | 20 | | Company; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, Lawrence County is served by two school | 22 | | districts, the Lawrenceville High School District and the Red |
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| 1 | | Hill High School District; and
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The local Lawrenceville High School basketball | 3 | | team, known as the Indians, has provided a rich successful | 4 | | basketball history as the Class A state basketball champions | 5 | | in 1972, 1974, 1982, and 1983 with a combined two season | 6 | | win-loss record of 68-0 from 1982–83; therefore, be it
| 7 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | 8 | | HUNDRED SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 9 | | we congratulate the people of Lawrence County on the occasion | 10 | | of their 200th anniversary; and be it further
| 11 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 12 | | presented to the Chairman of the Lawrence County Board and the | 13 | | Lawrence County Historical Society as a symbol of our esteem | 14 | | and respect.
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