HR0595 LRB094 13832 CSA 48703 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, The official Sesquicentennial Celebration of the
3 City of Grayville will take place on August 31, 2005 through
4 September 4, 2005; Grayville was officially chartered in the
5 year of 1855 by the State of Illinois; and
 
6     WHEREAS, Grayville's location on Interstate 64 along the
7 Wabash River makes it a unique portal to the natural beauty and
8 history of southeastern Illinois; and
 
9     WHEREAS, Grayville, population 1,800, is located on the
10 White and Edwards County line, at the mouth of Bonpas Creek on
11 the old channel of the Wabash River; the town's origin dates
12 back to 1810, when Thomas Gray, a Virginian, founded the
13 settlement of Bonpas, located near present-day Grayville; and
 
14     WHEREAS, Grayville sprang up around the trading post of
15 James Gray and Robert Walden, founded in 1830, as the tiny
16 settlements of Bonpas, Oxford, and Florence grew together; the
17 town is actually named for its first storekeeper; and
 
18     WHEREAS, Over the years, Grayville has proved to be a land
19 of opportunity, inhabited by friendly and hard-working people;
20 and
 
21     WHEREAS, The town flourished as a transportation center,
22 first by riverboat and later by railroad, with substantial
23 lumbering and milling interests; and
 
24     WHEREAS, Grayville later became known as the "Hub of the
25 Tri-State Oil Basin" following the oil boom of the 1930s and
26 1940s, boasting a number of oil field businesses; and
 
27     WHEREAS, Grayville citizens have always been quick to
28 perform their patriotic duties, counting among many notables

 

 

HR0595 - 2 - LRB094 13832 CSA 48703 r

1 the likes of Rear Admiral James M. Helm, hero of the
2 Spanish-American War; and
 
3     WHEREAS, The people of Grayville have proven a hardy and
4 resilient lot, enduring depressions and wartime along with the
5 rest of the nation, in addition to local calamities and
6 economic setbacks; and
 
7     WHEREAS, Among these same people, hope and optimism flow in
8 abundant supply as they continuously strive for community
9 improvement and to better the lot of their fellow man; and
 
10     WHEREAS, In the words of the late sage Herschel Groff,
11 "Everybody has a friend in Grayville"; therefore, be it
 
12     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
13 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
14 we congratulate the City of Grayville on the occasion of its
15 Sesquicentennial Celebration; and be it further
 
16     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
17 presented to the City of Grayville.