92_HR0364
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1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3 Representatives are pleased to recognize significant
4 milestones in the history of the cities, towns, and villages
5 of the State of Illinois; and
6 WHEREAS, The Village of Baldwin, although not
7 incorporated, originally was settled about one mile north of
8 its present location; the early settlers were the Henderson,
9 Allen, and Preston families; in 1874, the Mobile and Ohio
10 built the railroad in its present location; later, a grain
11 elevator was built along the railroad and the present village
12 started to develop; and
13 WHEREAS, In 1876, the villagers circulated a petition,
14 requesting that the Village of Baldwin be incorporated; the
15 petition, signed by fifty legal voters, requested that the
16 organizing of the Village of Baldwin located in the County of
17 Randolph be approved; and
18 WHEREAS, County Judge John H. Lindsey approved the
19 petition and ordered an election held on Tuesday, July 11,
20 1876 regarding village organization, and all votes cast were
21 in favor of village organization; and
22 WHEREAS, The first village board was elected on August 8,
23 1876; the board held its first meeting on August 11, 1876;
24 and
25 WHEREAS, Baldwin prospered as a small trading village
26 throughout the years, its main business being a grain
27 elevator; a grain elevator has operated in Baldwin since its
28 incorporation, the present one owned and operated by Gateway
29 FS, Inc.; and
30 WHEREAS, In 1932, Highway 154 was built through Baldwin
31 to provide all-weather transportation to neighboring towns;
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1 railroad passenger and freight service was provided until
2 October 1988, when passenger service was discontinued; the
3 present rail system supplies services to the Baldwin Power
4 Plant, Fairmont Minerals, Kaskaskia Regional Port District,
5 and Gateway FS, Inc.; and
6 WHEREAS, Baldwin schools in past years consisted of a
7 three-year high school which closed in the 1940s, a public
8 grade school which closed in 1959, and a Lutheran Grade
9 School which closed in the 1970s; and
10 WHEREAS, Baldwin in the past has had many churches; the
11 present churches are St. John Lutheran Church and Baldwin
12 Community Presbyterian Church; each of the churches has
13 organizations that promote the welfare of its members; and
14 WHEREAS, Over the years various organizations have been
15 active in promoting civic activities in the village; The
16 present organizations include the Nicholas Laufer Post 619
17 American Legion, Baldwin Athletic Club, Baldwin Community
18 Development Association, Baldwin Homecoming Committee, and
19 the 125th Baldwin Anniversary Committee; and
20 WHEREAS, In 1999, the old school building, which served
21 as the Village Hall was razed; with the help of Senator David
22 Luechtefeld and Representative Dan Reitz, funding was made
23 available for the new Community Center, completed this year,
24 which will be used for all community functions, will serve as
25 the meeting room for the Village Board of Trustees, and
26 contains the offices of the Village President and Village
27 Clerk; and
28 WHEREAS, Approximately 450 citizens live in the Village
29 of Baldwin, including Village President Jeffrey S. Rowold,
30 Village Clerk Wesley G. Stellhorn, Village Treasurer Eileen
31 Mehring, and Village Trustees Craig Hartmann, James Mueller,
32 Darrell Mueth, Tammy Prost, Gary Schoenbeck, and Cheryl
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1 Sellers; therefore be it
2 RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
3 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
4 we congratulate the Village of Baldwin on the 125th
5 Anniversary of its incorporation; and be it further
6 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this Resolution be
7 delivered to Village President Jeffrey S. Rowold as an
8 expression of our esteem.