Full Text of HR1225 94th General Assembly
HR1225 94TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
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HR1225 |
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LRB094 20305 HSS 58345 r |
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| HOUSE RESOLUTION
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| WHEREAS, The village of Colfax will celebrate its 125th | 3 |
| anniversary this year; and
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| WHEREAS, Colfax is located in the northeast corner of | 5 |
| Martin Township, in sections two and three; the northern limit | 6 |
| of the village stretches to the southern boundary of the | 7 |
| neighboring township of Lawndale; and
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| WHEREAS, Settlement in that part of McLean County was | 9 |
| somewhat slower than it was in other areas; William G. | 10 |
| Anderson, who came to be known as "Uncle Billy" to his many | 11 |
| friends, soon became one of the leading citizens of Martin | 12 |
| Township and McLean County; he spent considerable time and | 13 |
| effort in promoting the development of the village of Colfax; | 14 |
| he helped sell the idea of constructing a road through Martin | 15 |
| Township to the Clinton, Bloomington, Northeastern Railroad | 16 |
| Company, a branch of the Illinois Central; and
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| WHEREAS, The first train arrived in Colfax on July 4, 1880; | 18 |
| after the railroad reached Colfax, the success of the village | 19 |
| was almost assured; businessmen began to locate there at about | 20 |
| the same time that the railroad was completed; and
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| WHEREAS, The first business firm to open in Colfax was the | 22 |
| William Rinke Grocery Store; it opened in 1879, and the second | 23 |
| business to begin operation was the Wilson and Santte Grocery | 24 |
| Store; the third business in Colfax was founded by Dr. M.A. | 25 |
| Green; he was the first person to construct a combination store | 26 |
| and office building in the town; he intended to set up practice | 27 |
| and also open a grocery, dry goods, and drug store to be | 28 |
| managed by his brother, William Green; and
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| WHEREAS, The survey to lay out lots for the village of | 30 |
| Colfax was completed on March 22, 1880, on land owned by |
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HR1225 |
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| William G. Anderson; the location was an elegant place for a | 2 |
| town, especially during the few years when the railroad | 3 |
| terminated there; the town grew rapidly; the greatest single | 4 |
| influence on this growth was the discovery of deposits of coal | 5 |
| under the town and the opening up of mines to extract the | 6 |
| "black diamonds"; and
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| WHEREAS, In 1880, the year in which the village of Colfax | 8 |
| was laid out, the entire population of Martin Township was | 9 |
| 1,026; in 1890, the census report did not yet record the | 10 |
| village population separately, but the township population was | 11 |
| given as 1,428; and
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| WHEREAS, By a vote of 47 to 31, cast on December 15, 1881, | 13 |
| the citizens decided to incorporate the village; around the | 14 |
| turn of the century, Colfax was growing so rapidly that houses | 15 |
| could not be built fast enough; many new citizens were forced | 16 |
| to live in tents until better facilities could be secured; in | 17 |
| 1900, the village had a population of 1,153; therefore, be it
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| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 19 |
| NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | 20 |
| we congratulate the village of Colfax on the occasion of its | 21 |
| 125th anniversary; and be it further
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| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 23 |
| presented to the village of Colfax as an expression of our | 24 |
| esteem and with best wishes for future prosperity.
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