HR1027 LRB093 22408 HSS 51811 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the
3 State of Illinois are pleased to recognize milestone events for
4 cities of the State; and
 
5     WHEREAS, It has come to our attention that the City of
6 Bushnell will be celebrating its sesquicentennial on August 26,
7 2004; and
 
8     WHEREAS, In 1854, before the completion of the Chicago,
9 Burlington, & Quincy Railroad, John D. Hail of Macomb sold a
10 two-third interest in the northeast quarter of section 83, 7
11 n., 1 w., to D.P. Wells and Iverson L. Twyman, also of Macomb;
12 the three men together determined the establishment of a town
13 on that site; the first public sale of the lots in town was
14 made in May of 1854; about 70 lots were sold, for about $6,000
15 total, the prices varying from $30 to $120 each; and
 
16     WHEREAS, The new town was named in honor of Hon. N.
17 Bushnell, the president of the Northern Cross Railroad at that
18 time, which later became known as the Chicago, Burlington, &
19 Quincy Railroad; and
 
20     WHEREAS, The three founders of the town erected the first
21 business house, which they sold to Hiram Markham, who brought
22 the first stock of merchandise to the town; William Cord, Mr.
23 Markham, and William Vickers were the first to erect dwelling
24 houses in the town; the first hotel was completed by John D.
25 Hail, and he opened it for accommodation of the traveling
26 public in the summer of 1855; and
 
27     WHEREAS, As the railroad was completed and the locomotives
28 began traveling through the town, Bushnell began to grow; the
29 founders of the town donated two blocks of land to the the
30 town, one on the east side of the railroad and one on the west,

 

 

HR1027 - 2 - LRB093 22408 HSS 51811 r

1 which served as beautiful parks; they also gave lots to
2 religious denominations that wished to build houses of worship;
3 and
 
4     WHEREAS, A Library Association was organized in January of
5 1869; at an election held March 24, 1869, the first City
6 Charter was approved; the first persons elected to be city
7 officers during April of the same year included J. B. Cummings,
8 Mayor; Manning F. West, James W. Kelly, James Ayres, James
9 Cole, William H. Oglesby, I.N. McElvain, Fisher Brown, and A.E.
10 Barnes, Aldermen; M.A. Luce, Attorney and Clerk; Joseph Parks,
11 Treasurer; and Garret Nevins, Treasurer; during the year 1876,
12 at a cost of about $20,000, the city erected a high school
13 building; therefore, be it
 
14     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
15 NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we
16 congratulate the City of Bushnell on the occasion of its
17 sesquicentennial celebration on August 26, 2004; and be it
18 further
 
19     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
20 presented to the mayor of the City of Bushnell, Jack Promisson,
21 as an expression of our best wishes for the sesquicentennial
22 celebration.