Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

1
A Bill for
An act to relocate a part of the state road from Mount Vernon in Jefferson County to New Nashville in Washington County

Sec[Section] 1 Be it enacted by the people of the state of Illinois represented in the general assembly, That William Bullock ând John Trout^ of Jefferson County and Joel Woodrome of Washington County, be and they are hereby appointed commissioners to relocate so much of the state road from Mountvernon to New Nashville ôn the nearest, and best rout^ as lies between the bridge on the west fork of Muddy river in Jefferson County and Jordan Woodrome’s in Washington County 2

Sec 2 Said commissioners shall on or before the first day of July next meet at the house of John Trout in Jefferson County and after being duly sworn before some Justice of the peace of the county faithfully to perform the duties devolving upon them by this act shall proceed to relocate that part of the state road from Mount Vernon to New Nashville which lies between the points designated in the first section of this act, they shall blaze the trees in the timber and put up stakes in the prairie on so much of said road to be relocated by them as aforesaid and when such relocation has been made the same shall be opened and kept in repair as other state road are

Sec 3 said commissioners shall as soon thereafter as convenient cause to be filed with the county commissioners clerks

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of the counties of Jefferson and Washington a map or plat of said road so relocated which shall be entered of record by said Clerks and form a part of the record of said courts: and said county courts shall allow and pay said commissioners a reasonable allow[ance] per diem for the time employed by them in making said relocation to be paid out of the county treasury of said counties in proportion to the distance in such county

Sec 4 When ever said commissioners shall have relocated [so?] much of said road as is contemplated in the foregoing sections of this act ând the same shall have been opened ^ that portion of the old road lying between the points designated is hereby declared vacated. This act to take êffect^ from and after its passage

1On January 23, 1837, Harvey T. Pace in the House of Representatives presented the petition of citizens of Jefferson County, requesting alteration of a part of the state road from Mount Vernon to New Nashville. The House referred the petition to a select committee. In response to this petition, Pace of the select committee introduced HB 158 in the House on January 30. The House passed the bill on February 27. On March 1, the Senate referred the bill to a select committee, which did not report back the bill before the end of the session.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 362, 428, 707, 731-32; Illinois Senate Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 553, 573-74.

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