Papers Of Abraham Lincoln

In force 27th February, 1837

AN ACT to locate a State road therein named.
1

Commissioner

Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That Josephus Hewett, Philip C. Latham, and William Carpenter, of Sangamon county, be and they are hereby appointed commissioners to view, mark and locate a state road, commencing at the public square in the town of Springfield and running north with the Galena road to where the half mile line east and west, running through section 27, town. 16 north of range 5 west, crosses said road, thence east with said half mile line, until it intersects the present located road from Springfield to Decatur.2

Place of meeting

To be deemed a state road.

Sec. 2. That said commissioners shall meet at the town of Springfield on the first Monday in April next, or within thirty days thereafter, and after being duly sworn before some justice of the peace faithfully to discharge the duties enjoined on them by this act, shall proceed to view, mark and locate said road from point to point, as directed by the first section of this act, and shall make out and return a complete plat of said road, when so located, to the county commissioners’ court of said county, which shall be filed with the clerk of said court, and said road, when so located, shall be deemed a state road and shall be kept in repair as other state roads are: Provided, That nothing in this act shall be so constructed as to vacate any part of said road, as now travelled between

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Springfield and the place of termination of the above named road.

Compensation

Sec. 3. The county commissioners’ court of said county shall allow said commissioners a reasonable compensation for his (their) services, to be paid out of the treasury of said county.3

This act to be in force from and after its passage.

Approved 27th February, 1837.

1On January 9, 1837, Archer G. Herndon introduced in the Senate a petition from citizens of Sangamon, Morgan, and Adams counties. The Senate referred the petition to a select committee. On January 18, 1837, Mr. Herndon, from the select committee, reported SB 87 in the Senate. The Senate passed the bill on January 20. On January 25, the House of Representatives referred the bill to a select committee, which reported the bill back with amendments on February 14. The House approved the amendments, and on February 20, they passed the bill as amended. On February 27, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Illinois House Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 308, 382, 587, 652, 726; Illinois Senate Journal. 1836. 10th G. A., 1st sess., 175, 241, 257, 260, 471, 492.

2The land described here is situation a short distance north of Springfield.

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.