Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force 15th Feb.[February] 1837.

AN ACT to authorize George W. Dole and others to build a toll bridge across the Little Calumet.
1

Certain persons authorized to build a bridge

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the people of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That George W. Dole, Elijah K. Hubbard, Lewis Benton and Francis C. Sherman, all of the county of Cook and State of Illinois, or their heirs or assigns, are hereby authorized and empowered to construct a bridge across the Little Calumet river, at the town of Calumet, in the county of Cook, and to demand, receive and collect from all passengers whatever, crossing such bridge, the same rates of tolls, and no other, as are now received at the present ferry.

& how to be constructed

Statement of cost of said bridge.

Sec. 2. The said bridge shall be constructed in such a manner as always to afford a free passage to all boats and rafts upon the said river;2 and the said company hereby created, shall, when the said bridge is completed, file in

<Page 2>
the office of the clerk of the county Commissioners court of Cook county, a true statement of the cost of said bridge, and once in each year, lay before the county Commissioners court, a true statement of the profits if any there be.

When to be completed, and how.

Proviso.

Owners to pay a bonus, or forfeit the grant.

Sec. 3. That the said bridge shall, within two years from the passage of this act, be constructed in a good and substantial manner, at the place aforesaid, of sufficient width for the passage of two common waggons, side by side at the same time, and shall keep the same in good repair to the satisfaction of the county Commissioners’ court of Cook county, for the time being, Provided, when the nett proceeds of the said bridge shall exceed ten per cent per annum on the cost thereof and repairs, then the said George W. Dole, Elijah K. Hubbard, Lewis Benton and Francis C. Sherman, their heirs or assigns, shall pay, or cause to be paid in the county treasury of the county of Cook, the sum of one hundred dollars annually; and for failure of fulfilment of either of the above conditions, the privileges hereby granted shall be forfeited, and the said bridge become the property of the said county of Cook.

County may purchase said bridge & how.

Sec. 4. The county Commissioners, for the time being, of Cook county, shall, after the determination of the said period of thirty (years) be, and they are hereby empowered to purchase said bridge, first paying to the stockholders the appraised value thereof; said value to be determined by appraisers appointed, one by the said stockholders, and two by the said county Commissioners of Cook county, whose decision, after being duly sworn to faithfully discharge the duties of appraisers, shall be final in the premises.

Approved 15th February, 1837.

1On January 4, 1837, Peter Pruyne introduced a petition in the Senate, and the Senate referred the petition to a select committee. On January 13, Pruyne, a member of the select committee, introduced SB 78 in the Senate. On January 16, the Senate passed the bill. On January 25, the House of Representatives referred the bill to a select committee. On January 30, the select committee reported the bill with amendments, and the House concurred in those amendments. On February 6, the House amended and passed the bill. On February 10, the House concurred in the Senate’s amended version of the bill. On February 15, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 284, 301, 389, 421, 488-89, 550, 586, 594; Illinois Senate Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 207, 218, 224, 360, 388, 413, 434.

2The Northwest Ordinance of 1787 established the principle of the free navigation of the Mississippi River and its tributaries, and river and steamboat interests frequently challenged the builders of bridges to maintain that right.
“An Ordinance for the Government of the Territory of the United States, North West of the River Ohio,” art. 4 (1787); Columbus Insurance Co. v. Peoria Bridge Co. (1854), Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis et al., eds. The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln, 2d ed. Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009.