Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force Feb.[February] 27, 1837.

AN ACT to locate a State road from Wesley city to Mackinaw town, in Tazewell county.
1

Commissioners appointed to locate said road.

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That William S. Mans, Squire W. D. Chase, and John Shannon, of Tazewell county, be and they are hereby appointed Commissioners, whose duty it shall be to view, survey, mark and locate

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a road to commence at Wesley city, running thence by Hancock, to Mackinaw town, all in the county of Tazewell.

When and where to meet.

Sec. 2. Said Commissioners or a majority of them, shall meet at Wesley city on the first Monday in June next, or within two months thereafter, who after being duly sworn before some justice of the peace of said county, faithfully to observe the provisions of this act, shall proceed to view, survey, and locate said road, taking into consideration the local situation of the country through which the said road shall pass, and establish the same on the most eligible and advantageous ground, so as to make it a permanent and durable road.

Commissioners duty

Sec. 3. The said Commissioners shall mark the said road where it runs through timber land by cutting the trees, and when it passes through prairie land by running a durable furrow with a plow.

Shall report to clerk of commissioners court of Tazewell county.

Sec. 4. As soon as the said Commissioners shall have viewed and located said road, they shall make out a correct map of the said route, and return the same to the Clerk of County Commissioners court of the county of Tazewell, and the Commissioners of said court shall cause the same to be entered on their records.

Width of road and how kept in repair.

Sec. 5. The said road when so located, shall be deemed a State road, and shall be opened four poles wide, and kept in repair as other public roads are.

Compensation.

Sec. 6. The commissioners appointed by this act, shall receive a fair compensation for their services, and such assistance as they shall necessarily employ in locating said road. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after its passage.2

Approved, February 27, 1837.

1On February 10, 1837, Robert Stuart introduced HB 219 in the House of Representatives. On February 18, the House passed the bill. On February 24, 1837, the Senate passed the bill. On February 27, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 545-46, 640, 696, 725, 739; Illinois Senate Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 463-464, 504, 510-511, 530-531.

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.