093_HR0394

                                     LRB093 11945 HSS 17110 r

 1                          HOUSE RESOLUTION

 2        WHEREAS, The members of the House of  Representatives  of
 3    the  State  of  Illinois  wish  to  congratulate  the City of
 4    Litchfield on the occasion of its 150th anniversary; and

 5        WHEREAS, Litchfield was planned to be  called  Huntsville
 6    after  the  chief  engineer  for  the  Terre  Haute and Alton
 7    Railroad, around which the plans for  the  town  were  based;
 8    upon  hearing  of  the  plans  for  the new railroad, Electus
 9    Bachus Litchfield came to the area, procured the right of way
10    for the railroad, bought the company that was organizing  the
11    town, and thus became the community's namesake; and

12        WHEREAS, Early Litchfield government consisted of a board
13    of  trustees  with  E.C.  Dix  as the first president of that
14    board; Litchfield established a charter, which  was  approved
15    by  both  houses  of  the  legislature and signed by Governor
16    William H. Bissell on February 16,  1859;  William  E.  Bacon
17    became the first mayor of Litchfield in 1859; and

18        WHEREAS,  The  first City Hall in Litchfield was built in
19    1865 at a cost  of  $5,000;  after  receiving  the  municipal
20    charter   in   1859,  the  free  school  was  established  in
21    Litchfield and a graded  school  system  was  established  in
22    1860; in 1865, the town voted to build its first high school,
23    and  in  1899,  the  school  received  accreditation  by  the
24    University of Illinois; and

25        WHEREAS,  Church  life  is  rich  in Litchfield; in 1953,
26    there were  17  congregations;  the  oldest  congregation  in
27    Litchfield  is the English Lutheran Church, which was founded
28    in 1852; and

29        WHEREAS, The town constructed its first sidewalk in  1859
30    and  the first street paving was on Union Avenue in the early
31    to mid-1930s by the Works Progress Administration; Litchfield
 
                            -2-      LRB093 11945 HSS 17110 r
 1    established a tax levy to fund a library in 1872; the library
 2    opened 10 years  later;  in  1905,  the  Litchfield  Carnegie
 3    Public  Library,  constructed  with  funds provided by Andrew
 4    Carnegie, was opened; and

 5        WHEREAS, The Litchfield Municipal Airport was established
 6    in 1945 and dedicated in 1953; the  city  is  served  by  St.
 7    Francis Hospital, for which a grand opening was held in 1971;
 8    the Litchfield Community and Senior Citizens Center was begun
 9    in 1972; and

10        WHEREAS, Litchfield is currently home to many businesses,
11    churches,  and  citizens of the State of Illinois; therefore,
12    be it

13        RESOLVED,  BY  THE  HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES   OF   THE
14    NINETY-THIRD  GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
15    we congratulate the City of Litchfield on the occasion of its
16    150th anniversary; and be it further

17        RESOLVED, That a suitable  copy  of  this  resolution  be
18    presented  to  the City of Litchfield as an expression of our
19    respect and esteem.