Full Text of HR0379 099th General Assembly
HR0379 99TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 | | Representatives wish to congratulate the residents of the | 4 | | Village of Gilberts on the occasion of the Village's 125th | 5 | | anniversary; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, The beginning of human settlement in the Village | 7 | | of Gilberts can be traced back prior to the War of 1812; at | 8 | | that time, various Native American tribes, including the | 9 | | Blackhawks, Algonquin, and Pottowatomies inhabited the rolling | 10 | | hills of the region; after the War of 1812, the tribes were | 11 | | taken off the land and the area became officially opened for | 12 | | white settlement in the 1820s; and
| 13 | | WHEREAS, In the spring of 1836, E.R. Starks and Elijah Rich | 14 | | filed claims to what would become Rutland Township, named after | 15 | | the Vermont city that had been their home before traveling to | 16 | | the Illinois frontier; the history of the Village of Gilberts | 17 | | begins with their official claims on this land; soon, the | 18 | | Starks, Hills, Moores, Lynches, and McCornack families took up | 19 | | claims in this township and contributed to the development of | 20 | | this area; in 1839, Albro Gilberts arrived, establishing his | 21 | | farm in what is now the center of Gilberts; and
| 22 | | WHEREAS, Rutlandville was now flourishing and farming |
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| 1 | | became the way of life with a few businesses opening to serve | 2 | | the farmers; the first post office was established around this | 3 | | time approximately 2 miles from Pingree Grove; growth within | 4 | | Rutlandville was emerging outward from Albro Gilberts' farm and | 5 | | the culture of this area began to develop; Rutlandville was | 6 | | noted to be a "Demographic Town", with local chapters of the | 7 | | Patrons of Husbandry forming and the "grange" becoming an | 8 | | important part of the social and political life of the area; | 9 | | and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, A key factor in the growth of the area was its | 11 | | proximity to the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, now the | 12 | | Union Pacific Railroad; around the year 1852, a post office was | 13 | | established near the railroad station and was named Gilberts | 14 | | Station; soon after, the surrounding area of this establishment | 15 | | was also known as Gilberts Station; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, In 1855, Elijah Wilcox, and Andrew Pingree bought | 17 | | Gilberts' farm and platted the village; because of Albro | 18 | | Gilberts' great presence and establishment in this area, | 19 | | Gilberts Station was renamed Gilberts in his honor; and
| 20 | | WHEREAS, In 1868, David Haegar, founder of Haegar Pottery, | 21 | | started construction on what would become the largest tile and | 22 | | brick factory in Illinois; by 1875, Gilberts was a thriving | 23 | | community, featuring a train station, 2 blacksmith shops, a |
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| 1 | | steam feed mill, 2 grocery stores, livestock sales barns, a | 2 | | wagon shop, a drug store, a lumber store, several saloons, a | 3 | | dance hall, a local jail, 2 milk processing companies, an | 4 | | elementary school, and the St. Peter Evangelical Lutheran | 5 | | Church; the Brick and Tile Company was finally completed in | 6 | | 1882 and employed about 20 people; and
| 7 | | WHEREAS, In 1890, Gilberts was incorporated as a town with | 8 | | a board of trustees, a village president, and a local | 9 | | self-government; and
| 10 | | WHEREAS, When the Great Depression hit, life in Gilberts | 11 | | changed drastically; many businesses went under, causing the | 12 | | men to look for work outside of the community and leaving the | 13 | | farmers with no place to shop; the railway trains were also | 14 | | brought to a standstill, abolishing the transport of milk to | 15 | | Chicago that was vital to the Village's success; the Village's | 16 | | misfortunes continued through World War II; and
| 17 | | WHEREAS, In 1956, the construction of the | 18 | | Chicago-Northwest Tollway started a renewal in the Village; | 19 | | although there was not a direct access to the road, it did spur | 20 | | interest in further development in Gilberts; in the mid-1960s, | 21 | | a light industrial manufacturing area was established off of | 22 | | Route 72 and the core of the village was enhanced by 4 new | 23 | | subdivisions; by the 1970s, the first industrial park was |
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| 1 | | constructed along the southeast subdivisions and as growth | 2 | | continued, a second and eventually third industrial park were | 3 | | established; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Today, the Village of Gilberts continues its | 5 | | robust growth in population and light industrial | 6 | | manufacturing, but continues to remain true to its original | 7 | | identity and character; therefore, be it
| 8 | | RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 9 | | NINETY-NINTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 10 | | congratulate the residents of the Village of Gilberts on the | 11 | | occasion of the Village's 125th anniversary and wish them | 12 | | continued success and happiness in the future; and be it | 13 | | further
| 14 | | RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 15 | | presented to the Village of Gilberts as a symbol of our esteem | 16 | | and respect.
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