Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force Feb. [February]12, 1835.

AN ACT permanently to locate the Seat of Justice of Randolph county.
1

Removal of said seat to be determined by election.

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That there shall be an election in the county of Randolph on the first Monday in August next, to determine whether or not the seat of justice in said county, shall be removed from Kaskaskia to Miller’s farm, situate on the north half of section thirty, in township five south, of range six west.2 It shall be the duty of the clerk of the county commissioners’ court to open a column in the poll books for “Kaskaskia” and “Miller’s farm.” The qualified voters of said county voting for justices of the peace, may vote for one of those places, and it shall be the duty of the clerks of the election to enter said vote as in other cases.3

Majority voting in favor thereof it shall be removed.

Sec. 2. If a majority of the voters as aforesaid, shall vote for “Miller’s farm,” the county seat shall be removed to the same: Provided, the proprietor or proprietors of the land shall give and convey by deed of general warranty, in a

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square form, or not more than twice as long as wide, thirty acres thereof.4

Duty of county commissioners in case of removal.

Proviso.

Sec. 3. In case of a majority determining as aforesaid in favor of a removal of the county seat, it shall be the duty of the county commissioners of said county, to proceed to lay out a town upon the land donated, and cause the lots to be sold, the avails of which, or a sufficient amount thereof as may be necessary, shall be appropriated to the erection of a court house and jail for the use of the county; and the town thus laid out, shall be the permanent seat of justice for said county, from and after the first day of September, 1836, at which time the public offices of the county shall be removed to the same: Provided, That if the proprietor of the aforesaid north half of section thirty, in township five south, of range six west, shall neglect or refuse to make the donation on such part of said tract of land as the commissioners may deem most eligible, they may lay off said county seat on some adjoining quarter section of land, if the proprietor thereof will make a donation as aforesaid.

Authorized to make deeds to lots, &c.[etc]

Sec. 4. The county commissioners aforesaid shall have power to make deeds for the lots sold, to name the town, and such other powers as are necessary to carry this act into effect.

Approved, Feb. 12, 1835.

1On December 22, 1834, John Dawson presented in the House of Representatives a petition from citizens of Randolph County asking for the removal of the county seat. The House referred the petition to a select committee, and from that committee, John Thompson introduced HB 58 in the House on December 27, 1834. On December 29, the House referred it to a second select committee. The select committee reported back the bill without amendment on December 31. The House passed the bill on January 2, 1835. On January 3, the Senate tabled the bill. On January 19, the Senate took up the bill and referred it to the Committee on Petitions. The Committee on Petitions reported back the bill on February 6 with an amendment, in which the Senate concurred. The Senate passed the bill as amended on February 9. On February 11, the House referred the bill and Senate amendment to a third select committee. The select committee reported back the bill without amendment, and the House concurred in the Senate amendment. On February 12, the Council of Revision approved the bill, and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 1st sess., 143, 173, 178, 188, 201, 514, 533, 537, 548, 555; Illinois Senate Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 1st sess., 173, 174, 279, 456, 471, 500, 509, 515.

2Miller’s farm was later the site of the town of Sparta, which was established in 1837 as Columbus.
E. J. Montague, The History of Randolph County, Illinois, Including Old Kaskaskia Island (1859); copied, (Sparta, IL: Elisabeth Pinkerton Leighty, 1948), 26, 80, 84.

3On August 3, 1835, Randolph County citizens cast 464 votes for Kaskaskia to remain the county seat and 370 votes to remove the county seat to Miller’s farm.
Secretary of State, “Election Returns, Petitions, and Papers,” Record Series 103.032, Illinois State Archives, Springfield, IL.

4Kaskaskia remained the seat of government until a devastating flood in 1844 forced the removal of county functions to Chester, which became the official county seat in 1848.
James N. Adams, comp., and William E. Keller, ed., Illinois Place Names (Springfield, IL: Illinois State Historical Library, 1989), 513; Montague, History of Randolph County, 73; “Randolph County: Where Illinois Began,” (Chester, IL: randolphco.org, 2002).