In force, 14th Jan.[January], 1836.
AN ACT to lay out a State Road from the Wabash River to the National Road.
1Commissioners
Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That Jacob Harlan, James B. Anderson, and Royal A. Nott, are hereby appointed commissioners, to mark and lay out a road from the Wabash river at Darwin, to the seat of justice of Clark county, doing as little damage to private property, as is consistent with the public good.
When to commence said work.
Sec. 2. Said commissioners shall proceed to discharge the duties assigned them, on some day
after the 27th day February 1836, and shall make a full report of the surveys, courses
and distances of said road, to the county commissioners’ court of Clark county. Said road shall be four rods wide, and when so laid out, is hereby declared a state
road, to be kept in repair as other state roads are.2
W. B. Archer authorised to expend certain money on said road.
Sec. 3. The county commissioners’ court of Clark county, are hereby required to pay over to William B. Archer, the proceeds of the sales of all the county lots in the town of Darwin, that may be sold hereafter; and said Archer shall expend the same in improving said road between Darwin and the Bluff, south of McClure’s.
Sec. 4. Said Archer shall also, out of the money received from the Vermillion Saline lands, cause to be built, a substantial wooden bridge across Big creek, where the same is now crossed by the Vincennes and Chicago road, and also a bridge
of the same kind across Mill creek, where
<Page 2>
said road shall cross, and the balance of said appropriation shall be expended under
the direction of said Archer, in improving that part of said road mentioned in the third section of this act.
To report.
Give bond.
Sec. 5. Said Archer shall from time to time, make to the commissioners’ court of said county, a full report of all his proceedings under this act: Provided, That said William B. Archer shall, before he enters upon the discharge of the duties enjoined upon him by this
act, enter into bond, with such security as shall be approved of by the county commissioners’ of Clark county, payable to said commissioners, and their successors in office, for the use of said county, in the penal sum of
two thousand dollars, conditioned for the faithful performance of said duties.
Approved, Jan. 14, 1836.
1Responding to a petition, Uri Manley from a select committee introduced HB 72 in the House of Representatives on December 26, 1835. The House passed the bill unamended on December 30. On January
13, the Senate amended the title of the bill and added a section and passed the bill as amended.
On January 13, the House concurred with the amendments of the Senate to the bill.
On January 14, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 2nd sess.,153, 181, 311, 313, 319, 335; Illinois Senate Journal. 1835. 9th G. A., 2nd sess., 134, 229, 238, 239, 248.
2State roads were those public roads established or designated by the General Assembly and usually crossed county lines. Only the General Assembly could establish, alter,
or abandon state roads, until 1840 and 1841, when the General Assembly gave counties
the authority to alter or to abandon state roads upon petition by a majority of voters
in the area of the change.
Printed Document, 2 page(s), Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Ninth General Assembly, at their Second Session (Vandalia, IL:
J. Y. Sawyer, 1836), 219-20, GA Session: 9-2,