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1
HOUSE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of
3Representatives wish to congratulate the City of Andover on the
4185th anniversary of its founding; and
 
5    WHEREAS, Andover is Henry County's oldest community; it was
6founded in 1835 by the visionary Presbyterian minister Rev.
7Ithamar Pillsbury; the fledgling colony was patterned after New
8Haven, Connecticut and envisioned as a seat of learning,
9religion, and commerce; and
 
10    WHEREAS, The mill, which was constructed in 1836, was Henry
11County's first industry and attracted many early settlers to
12the village; and
 
13    WHEREAS, In 1840, Swedish seaman Sven Nelson became a
14"landlubber" and settled in the area to enjoy the beautiful
15prairie land and the scenic Edwards River; and
 
16    WHEREAS, Swedish immigrants learned about Andover and
17sailed across the Atlantic Ocean, traveled by canal boat and
18covered wagon, and walked long distances to settle there; these
19early settlers were met with Andover hospitality, which still
20exists in the village today; and
 

 

 

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1    WHEREAS, Andover's sister city is Kristdala, Sweden;
2during the latter half of the 19th century, some 2,000 persons
3left Kristdala and immigrated to the Andover area; this group
4consisted of approximately one half of the entire population of
5the town, and many of them settled on small parcels of land
6between the communities of Andover and Woodhull, which came to
7be known as Kristdala Backa (hills); today, Kristdala, which is
8located in Kalmar County in the province of Smaland, has a
9population of about 1,000; and
 
10    WHEREAS, Andover played an important role in the
11Underground Railroad with four known locations or "stations" in
12Andover, the Edwards River Mill located south of Andover, the
13Colony Brick House located at 1st & Ash Streets, the Woolsey
14House at Beech & 6th Streets, and the Mix-Lobeck House located
15at Pine & 8th Streets; while only the Colony Brick House
16building remains today, all of the sites have historical
17markers; Andover's early English settlers were very active in
18the abolitionist movement in the 1830s, and when the Swedes
19arrived in the 1840s, many of them also became involved with
20this movement; and
 
21    WHEREAS, For many years during the early and middle 20th
22century, Andover had a baseball team, which became known as the
23"Terrible Swedes"; they played on baseball diamonds with no
24fences, and collections were taken to pay for bats and balls;

 

 

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1in 1911, one of the team's pitchers, Franklin Johnson, signed
2as a pitcher for Davenport in the old Three I League and then
3played for the St. Louis Cardinals; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Andover's English and Swedish heritage has been
5preserved for visitors, and the past is joined with the present
6in a pleasant Illinois rural atmosphere; there are 25
7information signs located throughout the Andover area
8highlighting special sites; and
 
9    WHEREAS, Andover will celebrate its 185th birthday during
10the first weekend of June in 2021; the festival was originally
11scheduled for 2020 but has been postponed due to the COVID-19
12pandemic; therefore, be it
 
13    RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE
14HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
15we congratulate the City of Andover on the 185th anniversary of
16its founding; and be it further
 
17    RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
18presented to the City of Andover as an expression of our esteem
19and respect.