Full Text of HR1150 093rd General Assembly
HR1150 93RD GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
HR1150 |
|
LRB093 23063 HSS 53028 r |
|
| 1 |
| HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, The members of the House of Representatives of the | 3 |
| State of Illinois are pleased to recognize milestone events | 4 |
| that occur in the State of Illinois; and
| 5 |
| WHEREAS, It has come to our attention that the Village of | 6 |
| Patoka is celebrating its sesquicentennial during the weekend | 7 |
| of September 3, 2004 through September 5, 2004; and
| 8 |
| WHEREAS, Patoka is a small town in Southern Illinois with | 9 |
| an interesting history and a promising future; the number of | 10 |
| settlers in this area grew steadily due to the abundance of | 11 |
| rich farmland, and businesses began to thrive; some historians | 12 |
| indicate that this community was named in honor of an Illinois | 13 |
| Native American, Patoka, Chief of the Cahokias; and
| 14 |
| WHEREAS, The Village of Patoka was established on July 4, | 15 |
| 1854 and officially laid out by Brigham and James Clark; within | 16 |
| a year, C.F. Jones made an addition to the territory with the | 17 |
| building of the Illinois Central Railroad; shortly after the | 18 |
| building of the railroad, Cyrus Walker built the first home and | 19 |
| started the first store in Patoka, as well as handling the | 20 |
| duties of station agent; in 1856, Mr. Walker built the first | 21 |
| business house and was also the town's first postmaster; other | 22 |
| businesses that came to town were a produce store, a blacksmith | 23 |
| shop, and a gristmill; during the late 1800s, farmers depended | 24 |
| on tomatoes as a main crop, and they would bring their harvest | 25 |
| to the town cannery for processing; the Patoka Register, a | 26 |
| weekly newspaper was started around 1906; and
| 27 |
| WHEREAS, Churches were a vital part of the early life of | 28 |
| Patoka; there were six churches originally established and four | 29 |
| of the congregations are still active today; and
| 30 |
| WHEREAS, In 1921, all-weather roads came to Patoka with the |
|
|
|
HR1150 |
- 2 - |
LRB093 23063 HSS 53028 r |
|
| 1 |
| building of Highway 51; in 1936, the first oil well was | 2 |
| drilled, and this marked the beginning of the oil boom; and
| 3 |
| WHEREAS, At one time, there were 11 one-room school houses | 4 |
| in the area; the schools were consolidated into a schoolhouse | 5 |
| in Patoka, which was later replaced by a brick schoolhouse | 6 |
| after fire destroyed it; and
| 7 |
| WHEREAS, Today, the population of Patoka is approximately | 8 |
| 633; the residents are celebrating the 150th anniversary of | 9 |
| Patoka at the Fall Festival in September; the Festival will | 10 |
| include music, fireworks, a parade, a Patoka History Museum | 11 |
| display, food, crafts, bingo, a cake walk, an antique tractor | 12 |
| display, water wars, a pedal pull, a petting zoo, jumps, a rock | 13 |
| climbing wall, pony rides, face painting, sand volleyball, the | 14 |
| Terrapin Hill Muzzleloaders, a history presentation, and a | 15 |
| veteran's memorial; therefore, be it
| 16 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 17 |
| NINETY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 18 |
| congratulate the Village of Patoka on the distinction of | 19 |
| reaching its sesquicentennial; and be it further
| 20 |
| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 21 |
| presented to the Village of Patoka as an expression of our | 22 |
| respect and esteem.
|
|