HR1131 LRB094 20159 HSS 57945 r

1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2     WHEREAS, During the days of July 6 through 9, 2006, the
3 city of Nokomis will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its
4 founding in 1856; and
 
5     WHEREAS, In 1855, the Alton and Terre Haute Railroad rolled
6 its first train through the prairie land around what was to
7 become Nokomis; in 1856, P.C. Huggins and Simeon Ryder platted
8 and laid out the town and began selling lots; the village
9 quickly grew along the railroad tracks with the establishment
10 of a railroad station in 1856, followed by a mercantile
11 establishment, a hotel, a blacksmith shop, and a post office in
12 1857; the village was incorporated in 1867; and
 
13     WHEREAS, The naming of the village is credited to Mrs.
14 Anissa Berry of Alton, who is believed to have named it Nokomis
15 after the little Indian boy in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's
16 poem, "Hiawatha"; and
 
17     WHEREAS, The early settlers were mainly farmers who found
18 the prairie soil around the Nokomis area to be some of the
19 richest in the world; by 1900, the population had grown to
20 nearly 1,500 with 60 to 65 businesses; Nokomis continued to
21 grow with the sinking of coal mines in the area, until the
22 mines closed in the 1930s and 1950s; and
 
23     WHEREAS, Today the population of Nokomis is around 2,500;
24 farming still plays an important role in the city's economy;
25 the city boasts three beautiful parks, two grocery markets,
26 eight to ten restaurant/fast food places, two convenience
27 stores, two banks, a newspaper, a large grain elevator, and
28 many other businesses; therefore, be it
 
29     RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE
30 NINETY-FOURTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that

 

 

HR1131 - 2 - LRB094 20159 HSS 57945 r

1 we recognize the city of Nokomis on the occasion of its
2 sesquicentennial; and be it further
 
3     RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
4 presented to the city of Nokomis as an expression of our
5 esteem.