Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force, 7th Feb. 1837.

AN ACT to locate a State road from Henderson, in Knox county, to Morristown, in Henry county.
1

Commissioners appointed to view road from Henderson thro[through] Andover & La Grange.

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That Joshua Harper and Thomas Baker, of Henry county, and James Mans-

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field, of Knox county, be and they are appointed commissioners to view, mark, and locate a State road from Henderson, in Knox county, to Morristown, in Henry county, passing through Andover and Lagrange in said county.2

When and where to meet

Shall be sworn.
Oath.
Duty

Sec. 2. Said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall meet at Morristown on the first Monday in May next, or within thirty days thereafter, and after being 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 on the most eligible and advantageous ground, and shall place in the prairies through which said road may pass, stakes of durable timber, and blazes on the trees in the timber.

To make report

Declared a State road

Sec. 3. As soon as practicable, after said road is located, the said commissioners, or a majority of them, shall make a report thereof under their hands, and return the same to the clerks of the county commissioners’ courts of Knox county and Henry county, when organized, which report shall be filed and preserved in their offices, and the said county commissioners’ courts shall cause so much of said road as lies in their respective counties to be opened four poles wide, and the same is hereby declared a State road.

Compensation.

Sec. 4. The county commissioners court of said county of Knox, and Henry, when organized, shall allow said commissioners a reasonable compensation for their services, to be paid out of the county treasuries respectively, in proportion to the time necessarily employed in their respective counties.

Approved 7th February, 1837.

1On January 10, 1837, Peter Butler introduced SB 67 in the Senate. On January 13, the Senate passed the bill. On January 19, the House of Representatives referred the bill to a select committee. The select committee reported back the bill on January 21 with an amendment, in which the House concurred. On January 25, the House passed the bill as amended. On February 2, the Senate concurred in the House amendment. On February 7, the Council of Revision approved the bill, and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 256, 301, 317, 387, 459, 494; Illinois Senate Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 183, 201, 208, 302, 340, 358, 364-65.

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.