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1 | HOUSE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | ||||||
3 | Representatives wish to congratulate the City of Salem on the | ||||||
4 | occasion of its bicentennial as the county seat of Marion | ||||||
5 | County; and
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6 | WHEREAS, The largest series of earthquakes in the history | ||||||
7 | of the new American republic brought the first settlers to | ||||||
8 | Salem; the New Madrid, Missouri earthquakes of 1811 to 1812, | ||||||
9 | which caused the Mississippi River to flow backward and church | ||||||
10 | bells to ring as far away as Boston, sent Captain Samuel Young | ||||||
11 | searching for a more hospitable home; after finding abundant | ||||||
12 | game and tranquility when he reached the land of present-day | ||||||
13 | Salem, he made camp on what is now the courthouse square; and
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14 | WHEREAS, In the 1820s, a severe drought hit northern and | ||||||
15 | central Illinois, which contributed to wagonloads of people | ||||||
16 | traveling to southern Illinois to obtain food and grain for | ||||||
17 | themselves and their livestock; this migration was compared to | ||||||
18 | the Biblical story of Israel going to Egypt to purchase grain; | ||||||
19 | thus, southern Illinois became known as "Egypt" or "Little | ||||||
20 | Egypt", with Salem being referred to as the "Gateway of Little | ||||||
21 | Egypt"; and
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22 | WHEREAS, Salem is situated halfway between the Indiana and |
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1 | Missouri borders on what was originally the Vincennes-St. | ||||||
2 | Louis Road, known today as U.S. Highway 50 that goes from | ||||||
3 | Washington, D.C. to San Francisco, evolving the city into a | ||||||
4 | stagecoach stop along the Vincennes Trail; although most of | ||||||
5 | the Conestoga wagons rolled through the city, enough stopped | ||||||
6 | to deposit their cargoes that Salem was eventually | ||||||
7 | incorporated as a village in 1855; and
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8 | WHEREAS, Marion County was created on January 24, 1823; | ||||||
9 | the legislation, sponsored by State Representative Zadoc Casey | ||||||
10 | of Mount Vernon, stated that for the purpose of fixing the | ||||||
11 | permanent seat of justice for the county, or the "county | ||||||
12 | seat", a selection would be recommended by three appointed | ||||||
13 | commissioners, who were Andrew Bankson, William Hicks, and | ||||||
14 | John G. Fitch; and
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15 | WHEREAS, The commissioners, after viewing the situation of | ||||||
16 | the county and examining the different donations offered, | ||||||
17 | decided to fix the permanent seat of justice of Marion County | ||||||
18 | on 30 acres of land offered by James Roberts, making their | ||||||
19 | decision on May 13, 1823; and
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20 | WHEREAS, At the first meeting of the Marion County | ||||||
21 | Commissioners on June 2, 1823, the location of the seat of | ||||||
22 | justice was accepted, and the commissioners' court ordered | ||||||
23 | that this seat be known and designated by the name Salem; and
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1 | WHEREAS, Local history indicates that the town of Salem | ||||||
2 | was first known as Decatur; however, when the founding fathers | ||||||
3 | went to register the town at the then state capitol of | ||||||
4 | Vandalia, they learned the name Decatur had already been | ||||||
5 | selected for another community in Illinois; due to the | ||||||
6 | religious influence of the town fathers, they selected the | ||||||
7 | name "Salem" as the town's permanent name, which is featured | ||||||
8 | in the Old Testament and derives from the Hebrew word meaning | ||||||
9 | "Jerusalem"; and
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10 | WHEREAS, Salem's next 200 years have included a rich | ||||||
11 | history influenced by and involving agriculture, railroads, | ||||||
12 | the discovery of oil and coal, the development and expansion | ||||||
13 | of commerce and industry, and the influence of local leaders | ||||||
14 | on local, state, and federal public policy; and
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15 | WHEREAS, William Jennings Bryan, known as "The | ||||||
16 | Silver-Tongued Orator", is one of Salem's most famous | ||||||
17 | citizens; he was the presidential nominee for the Democratic | ||||||
18 | Party three times, represented Nebraska in the U.S. House of | ||||||
19 | Representatives, and served as the Secretary of State under | ||||||
20 | President Woodrow Wilson; and
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21 | WHEREAS, Salem is also home of John Thomas Scopes, a 1919 | ||||||
22 | graduate of Salem High School whose commencement speaker was |
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1 | William Jennings Bryan; at 24 years old, Scopes was indicted | ||||||
2 | for teaching evolution at a high school in Dayton, Tennessee; | ||||||
3 | William Jennings Bryan served as a prosecutor at the | ||||||
4 | subsequent trial, notably referred to as the Scopes Monkey | ||||||
5 | Trial or The State of Tennessee v. John Thomas Scopes; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Salem is rich in local lore and legends, | ||||||
7 | including being the birthplace of the condiment Miracle Whip; | ||||||
8 | the restaurateur behind Max Crossett's Café, an eatery located | ||||||
9 | at 100 North Washington, claimed that the Kraft Company bought | ||||||
10 | the café's recipe of Max's X-tra Fine Salad Dressing for $300 | ||||||
11 | in 1931, which was then renamed Kraft's Miracle Whip; and
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12 | WHEREAS, Another Salem legend surrounds the Halfway | ||||||
13 | Tavern, located on U.S. 50 just east of Salem and halfway | ||||||
14 | between St. Louis, Missouri and Vincennes, Indiana; originally | ||||||
15 | constructed in 1815, the establishment was used as both an inn | ||||||
16 | and livery stable; there has been speculation that one of the | ||||||
17 | customers was a young attorney named Abraham Lincoln during a | ||||||
18 | time when he and other lawyers "rode the circuit" from | ||||||
19 | courthouse to courthouse to try cases; some years ago, the | ||||||
20 | State of Illinois took over the property, making it a historic | ||||||
21 | site; and
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22 | WHEREAS, In the 1930s, Salem transformed from a | ||||||
23 | quiet-paced small town, doing its best to recover from the |
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1 | Great Depression, to a city hit with another severe jolt in its | ||||||
2 | economy due to the oil boom; the city was noted for having the | ||||||
3 | second highest amount of oil production in any one area when 93 | ||||||
4 | million barrels of oil were pumped from area farmland in 1939; | ||||||
5 | and
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6 | WHEREAS, Salem is known as the "Birthplace of the G.I. | ||||||
7 | Bill of Rights", otherwise known as the Servicemen's | ||||||
8 | Readjustment Act of 1944; this Act was forged from the | ||||||
9 | knowledge of Salem's own Luther B. Easley American Legion Post | ||||||
10 | 128 on November 4, 1943, and it was drafted by Omar J. McMackin | ||||||
11 | and Earl W. Merritt, both of Salem, former Governor John | ||||||
12 | Stelle of McLeansboro, Dr. Leonard W. Esper of Springfield, | ||||||
13 | George H. Bauer of Effingham, William R. McCauley of Olney, | ||||||
14 | James P. Ringley of Lemont, and A. L. Starshak of Chicago; | ||||||
15 | former Governor Stelle was with President Franklin D. | ||||||
16 | Roosevelt when he signed it into law in Washington, D.C. on | ||||||
17 | June 22, 1944; therefore, be it
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18 | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE | ||||||
19 | HUNDRED THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that | ||||||
20 | we congratulate the City of Salem on its bicentennial | ||||||
21 | anniversary as the county seat of Marion County, and we honor | ||||||
22 | the achievements of its citizens and its role in Illinois and | ||||||
23 | U.S. history; and be it further
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1 | RESOLVED, That we wish the City of Salem another 200 years | ||||||
2 | of success; and be it further
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3 | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | ||||||
4 | presented to City of Salem as an expression of our esteem and | ||||||
5 | respect.
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