Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force, Jan.[January] 14, 1836.

AN ACT to lay out a certain road therein named, and to authorise William Kirkpatrick to build a Toll Bridge across the Winnebago Swamp.
1

Commissioners appointed to locate road.

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That James Wilson, of Tazewell county; Henry Thomas, of Putnam county, and Simon Reed, of Peoria county, be, and they are hereby appointed commissioners, to view, survey, mark, and locate a state road, to commence at the court house in Peoria, running thence by the most direct and eligible route, to Rock river, to strike said river at a point on the first rapids below Dixon’s ferry; and running thence, by the most direct and eligible route, to Galena;2 doing as little damage to private property as possible, and having a due regard to the public interest and convenience.

When and where to meet.

To be sworn.

Sec. 2. Said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall meet at the town of Peoria, on the first Monday of June next, or as soon thereafter as practicable, and first being duly sworn before some justice of the peace, faithfully to perform the duties required by this act, shall proceed to view, mark, and locate said road, from point to point, on the nearest and best possible route, taking into consideration, as aforesaid, the public convenience, utility, and economy, so as to make the same a permanent road.

Shall report.

Sec. 3. Said commissioners shall, on or before the first day of December next, make out a report of their proceedings to the county commissioners’ courts of the several counties through which the said road may pass, accompanied by a complete map of said road, which report and map shall be filed by the clerks of the county commissioners’ courts of the several counties aforesaid, and shall form a

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part of the records of said courts: and said road, when laid out as aforesaid, shall be considered a state road, and shall be opened and kept in repair as other state roads.

Compensation.

By whom paid.

Sec. 4. Said commissioners shall receive for their services, per day, the sum of two dollars, while necessarily employed in said work; which, together with the necessary expenses for a surveyor and chain carriers, shall be paid for by William Kirkpatrick, of Rock river, it being hereby expressly enacted, that no part of said expenses shall be chargeable, or paid by the counties through which said road may pass, or by the state.

Wm. Kirkpatrick authorised to build a toll bridge.

Sec. 5. Be it further enacted, That the said William Kirkpatrick, his heirs and assigns, be, and they are hereby authorised and empowered, to erect a toll bridge across the Winnebago swamp, at the place where said road crosses said swamp.3 At either end of said bridge, the said Kirkpatrick, his heirs or assigns, are hereby authorised to place a toll gate, where he, or they, may ask and demand of all and every person or persons passing, the rates of toll, which, from time to time, may be fixed by the county commissioners’ court, of the county in which said bridge may be situated.

When to commence and to complete.

Sec. 6. The said Kirkpatrick, his heirs, or assigns, shall commence the building of said bridge within one year, and have it so far completed within two years from the passage of this act, as to admit the safe passage of persons, wagons, teams, cattle, &c.[etc.], over it.

To repair,

Proviso.

Sec. 7. The said William Kirkpatrick, his heirs and assigns, shall at all times after the completion thereof, keep said bridge in good repair, and allow a speedy passage to all persons, and their property, over it, upon the receipt of the tolls in such cases, as allowed, as is hereinafter provided. And if at any time the said bridge be left out of repair, so that the same be impassable for the space of twelve months, at any time, the said bridge shall accrue and belong to the county in which the same may be situated; Provided, however, That the destruction of said bridge by fire, high water, or other casualty, shall not work a forfeiture of the privileges hereby granted; but the said William Kirkpatrick, his heirs, or assigns, shall proceed immediately to repair the same.

Shall make causeways.

Sec. 8. It shall be the duty of said Kirkpatrick, his heirs, or assigns, in order to entitle himself to the provisions of this act, to construct, and keep in repair, a causeway over the whole of the Winnebago swamp, to and from the bridge aforesaid, free of any and all expense to the county or counties in which the same may be situated.

Privileges granted.

Sec. 9. No person shall, within fifteen years there-

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after, build a bridge, or establish a ferry, across said swamp, within one mile above or below said bridge; Provided, The said William Kirkpatrick, his heirs, or assigns, shall erect, and keep up said bridge, for that space of time: Provided further, The aforesaid privilege shall not extend so far as to prohibit any person from building a bridge, or establishing a ferry, across said swamp, on any county or state road laid out prior to the passage of this act.4

County commissioners may purchase said bridge.

Sec. 10. Whenever the county commissioners of the county in which said bridge may be situated, shall deem it expedient to purchase said bridge, they shall have the right so to do, by paying the said William Kirkpatrick, his heirs, or assigns, the original cost of said bridge; and for the purpose of enabling the county commissioners to make said purchase, it shall be the duty of the said Kirkpatrick, his heirs, or assigns, to file with the clerk of the county commissioners’ court, such vouchers as shall be deemed sufficient by the commissioners, to ascertain the cost of said bridge.

Taxable.

Sec. 11. That the county commissioners of said county, shall have full power to levy a tax on said bridge, as is provided in an act to provide for the establishment of ferries, toll bridges, and turnpike roads, approved February 12th, 1827.5

Approved, Jan. 14, 1836.

1Responding to a petition from William Kirkpatrick, John T. Stuart of the Committee on Petitions introduced HB 71 in the House of Representatives on December 26, 1835. The House referred the bill to a select committee, which reported back the bill with several amendments on December 28. The House concurred in the amendments and passed the bill on December 30. The Senate passed the bill as amended on January 13, 1836. On January 14, the Council of Revision approved the bill, and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 2nd sess., 152-53, 162-63, 182, 311, 318, 335; Illinois Senate Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 2nd sess., 133-34, 226, 238, 248.

2It was approximately 140 miles from Peoria to Galena, via Dixon’s Ferry.

3Winnebago Swamp was a marshy area two or three miles wide that lay on either side of Inlet Creek and covered much of the southwestern-most township of what in 1839 became Lee County.
History of Lee County (Chicago: H. H. Hill and Company, 1881), 18-19, 21, 629-30.

4The state road mentioned here, from Peoria to Dixon to Galena, was never re-located. The General Assembly superseded this act’s provisions regarding a toll bridge over the Winnebago Swamp by another act in 1839, which authorized Henry W. Cleaveland to build a bridge and causeway over the swamp.
An Act to Authorize Henry W. Cleavland to Build a Toll-Bridge across the Winnebago Swamp; Frank E. Stevens, History of Lee County, Illinois (Chicago: S. J. Clarke, 1914), 1:46-48.

5The General Assembly authorized county commissioners’ courts to tax all ferries, toll bridges, and turnpike roads at an rate of $2 to $100 annually.
“An Act to provide for the establishment of Ferries, Toll Bridges and Turnpike Roads,” 12 February 1827, Revised Code of Laws of Illinois (1827), 220-27.