HR1005 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY

HR1005 LRB093 22325 HSS 51456 r

HOUSE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the State of Illinois are pleased to congratulate the Village of Winnebago on the occasion its 150th anniversary; and

WHEREAS, In 1850, there were 499 residents counted in the census in Winnebago Township; the only heads of household who weren't farmers were one minister, one moulder, 2 blacksmiths, and 4 mechanics; during that decade, Winnebago became a railroad boom town; each town at the west end of the Chicago & Galena Union line became a magnet of growth, fuelled by the tremendous pressure of farmers arriving, driving their livestock, or with wagon loads of produce ready for delivery to market; and

WHEREAS, During this period, the town was home to a hotel, warehouses, and stockyards; 1855 saw the first church, the first school class, and the completion of the first house; the 1860 census list includes 1,002 rural inhabitants in Winnebago Township; the Village listed 276 residents; and

WHEREAS, In 1868, a new 4-room school was completed and the First Presbyterian Church was started; formal incorporation of the Village of Winnebago occurred in 1878 and was followed by the prohibition of alcohol sales by local option; the population was estimated at nearly 600; and

WHEREAS, Winnebago entered a time of decline during the 1880s and beyond; there was a dilution of the railroad monopoly; some breadwinners commuted to work in Rockford, and many more did their shopping in the city, rather than locally; several disastrous fires destroyed the Main St. business buildings in the 1890s; and

WHEREAS, The Winnebago Town Hall was completed in 1893; in 1903, two rival telephone companies were set up in the Village; and the Winnebago Post Office began to serve several routes in 1904; during the 1920s, there was growth in Winnebago; one basis of this growth was the consolidation of 2 rural school districts into the Winnebago Village system in the early 1920s; a new building was completed in 1925 to serve all 12 grades; and

WHEREAS, The Win-Bur-Sew Fire Protection District was established in 1943; the Winnebago Community Council began in 1942 and handled the town's centennial in 1954, and it has continued youth activities and what has led to today's 4th of July celebration; by 1960, the village had grown to a population of 1,059; and

WHEREAS, The State completed a new cement road from U.S. 20 through the village in 1948; the Village responded to expansion by putting in a water system by 1950 and a sewer plant by 1958; Winnebago High School was completed and dedicated in 1959, followed by the Jean McNair Middle School, and the replacement of the Dorothy Simon Elementary building; and

WHEREAS, In 1972, a volunteer library was renewed by the Jr. Women's Club; in 1978, the first multi-family housing project was opened; the 1990 census registered 1,840 residents of the Village, and 1992 saw the updating of the municipal sewer plant after years of restricted growth; and

WHEREAS, The township formed in 1849 has grown from a small rural village into a bedroom community of nearly 3,000 village residents and over 5,142 township residents; although growth in the community is inevitable, Winnebago still maintains a small town atmosphere; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we congratulate the Village of Winnebago on the occasion its 150th anniversary; and be it further

RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be presented to the Village of Winnebago as an expression of our esteem.