Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force, 28th Feb.[February] 1837.

AN ACT to locate a State road from the Mississippi to McComb county.
1

Commissioners to view and lay out State road.

To report to county commissioners

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That John L. Smith, Enoch Conyers and Ishmael Davy,2 all of the county of Adams, be, and they are hereby, appointed commissioners to view, lay out, and mark a State road, from a point on the Mississippi river, opposite the town of Tully, in the State of Missouri, by John McFadden’s store, William Wakefield’s farm, thence to the town of Woodville, to the nearest and most practicable point on the road leading from Quincy to McComb; said road to be viewed and laid on the most practicable ground from point to point. Said commissioners, after viewing and marking out said road, shall report the same, together with a description thereof, under their hands, to the county commissioners’ court of Adams county, on or before the first term of their Court, after said view, and the number of days they are necessarily employed. They may employ hands sufficient to assist them in said work. The said road, when viewed,

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marked, and reported, shall be deemed a State road, and kept in repair as other State roads are.

When and where to meet.

Allowance.

Sec. 2. The said commissioners shall, on or before the first Monday of April next, or within three months thereafter, meet at the said point on the Mississippi, and thence proceed to lay out said road, as is directed in the preceding section; and the county commissioners’ court of said county shall allow them, and the hands employed by them, such compensation for their services out of the county treasury, as may seem just and reasonable for their services.

Commissioners sworn.

Sec. 3. Any two of said commissioners, after having been duly sworn and qualified by some justice, may proceed to lay out said road, and make their return accordingly.3

Approved, 28th February, 1837.

1On December 20, 1836, George Galbreath introduced in the House a petition of citizens, asking for a road running from the Mississippi River to Macomb. The House referred the petition to a select committee. From the select committee, Galbreath introduced HB 92 on January 7, 1837. On January 26, the House referred the bill to a second select committee, which reported back with an amendment. The House passed the bill as amended on February 8. The Senate passed the bill on February 23. On February 28, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 81, 194, 399, 458, 519-20, 686, 751, 766; Illinois Senate Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 377, 479, 485, 494-495, 551-552.

2On February 3, the House amended the bill by adding Davy’s name in place of John G. Driskill.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 458.

3State 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.
An Act concerning Public Roads, sec. 9; An Act Authorizing Commissioners’ Courts to Alter, Change, and Relocate State Roads; An Act concerning Public Roads.