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91_HR0372
LRB9106999KBkb
1 HOUSE RESOLUTION
2 WHEREAS, The House of Representatives wishes to honor the
3 Village of Stewardson on its 125th anniversary; and
4 WHEREAS, William Stewardson II, the son of William and
5 Mary Nicholson Stewardson, was born in Westmoreland County,
6 England on February 24, 1828; he came to Shelby County,
7 Illinois in 1845; in 1851 he married Nancy Douthit and soon
8 after located in Richland and Prairie Township; and
9 WHEREAS, Mr. Stewardson built sheep pens on two corners
10 of the small community, and was the owner of 3000 acres in
11 Prairie Township; in 1854 the first settlers moved into the
12 area, and in 1874 Mr. Stewardson donated 20 acres of land for
13 a Village; and
14 WHEREAS, The first homes in the area were sod covered and
15 dugout homes; stagecoach lines passed through the area, as
16 well as the Chicago and Paducah railroad; at first the
17 Village was known as Metz, and on September 30, 1874 the
18 Village of Stewartson was incorporated; on June 25, 1883 the
19 Post Office was changed to Stewardson; for many years mail
20 would arrive addressed to either Metz or Stewardson; and
21 WHEREAS, Important dates in the history of Stewardson
22 include: the Enterprise, the first newspaper, was started in
23 1878; the town population was 500 in 1878 and 750 by 1887; an
24 opera hall was built in 1893, and still stands today; the
25 Hoffman Block Building was completed in 1909; a new brick
26 school was built in 1909; in 1910 the Village was voted a dry
27 community; and in 1911 the old kerosene street lamps were
28 replaced with electrical lighting built by Frank and Ralph
29 Williams; and
30 WHEREAS, In 1949 the school system was consolidated, in
31 1951 the first class graduated from the new high school; and
-2- LRB9106999KBkb
1 in 1967 a new grade school was built adjoining the high
2 school; and
3 WHEREAS, Today Stewardson is home to custom cabinet
4 manufacturing, government housing, a meat processing locker
5 plant, an auto agency, a farm implement dealer, a cafe, a
6 lumber yard and hardware store, a barber shop, a beauty shop,
7 a locally owned bank, a service station, a grocery store, a
8 grain elevator, a grain elevator with fertilizer and chemical
9 application, two trucking companies, a truck driving school,
10 a certified public accountant, two insurance agents, a job
11 printer, antique dealers, Artcraft printers, a licensed
12 computer jober, a plumber, a doctor, the rural fire
13 protection and ambulance district, a post office, a Masonic
14 lodge, the Lions Club, the American Legion, three churches,
15 and one parochial school; therefore, be it
16 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
17 NINETY-FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
18 we congratulate the Village of Stewardson on its 125th
19 anniversary; may the people of the Village continue to enjoy
20 their lives in the serenity a small hometown brings to its
21 inhabitants; and be it further
22 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
23 presented to the Village of Stewardson.