Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force, 24th Feb.[February] 1837.

AN ACT to locate a State road from Peoria, by Rome and Chillicothe, to Princeton, in Putnam county.
1

Commissioners appointed.

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That Elias Thompson and Augustus Langworthy of Putnam county, and Hiram Cleveland of Peoria county be, and they are hereby, appointed commissioners to view, mark, and locate a road from the intersection of the county road from the village of Rome to Peoria in Peoria county, with the Peoria and Galena state road on section twenty-seven, township ten north, of the base line of range eight east, of the fourth principal meridian,2 in said county, by Rome and Chillicothe in Peoria, and Windsor in Putnam county, to Princeton, in the same county, varying as little as practicable from a direct line from point to point, having in view the most eligible route, its permanency, and due regard to the public convenience.

Time and place of meeting.

Shall be sworn.

Shall view, mark and locate said road, cause a map of survey to be forwarded to clerks of counto commissioners court of each county.

Clerk shall file in his office.

Shall be kept in repair.

Sec. 2. That said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall meet on the first Monday of April next, or within one month thereafter, at David Ridgeway’s dwelling in Peoria county; and being first duly sworn before some justice of the peace, faithfully to discharge the duties required of them by this act, shall proceed to view, mark, and locate said road, and as soon as practicable thereafter cause to be made a map of the survey of said road, certified by them, and forward a copy thereof, to the clerk of the county commissioners’ court of each of the counties through which, or part of which, said road shall pass, which shall be by him filed in his office, and the said road thus laid out shall be and is hereby declared a public state road,3 and shall be opened and kept in repair in the same manner as other public road are.

Compensation per day.

Sec. 3. Said commissioners shall receive for their services one dollar and fifty cents per day for all the time necessarily employed in said work, together with a reasonable compensation for one surveyor, two chain carriers, and one marker, which several sums shall be paid by the counties through any part of which said road shall pass in proportion to the extent of said road in each.

Approved February 24, 1837.

1On January 2, 1837, John Hamlin in the Senate introduced the petition of Augustus Langworthy and others, requesting a road from Peoria to Princeton. The Senate referred the petition to a select committee. In response to this petition, Hamlin of the select committee introduced SB 43 in the Senate on January 3. On January 6, the Senate passed the bill. On January 25, the House of Representativesreferred the bill to a select committee. The select committee reported back the bill on January 31 with an amendment, in which the House concurred. On February 8, the House passed the bill as amended. On February 21, the Senate concurred in the House amendment. On February 24, the Council of Revision approved the bill, and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 191, 253, 388, 464, 521, 668, 678; Illinois Senate Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 143, 154, 163, 378, 483, 491-92, 512-13.

2Located north of Peoria and southeast of Rome.
“Counties, Townships, and Ranges in Illinois,” Maps, Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d edition (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Reference.aspx?ref=Reference html files/LandMeasurement.html.

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.