In force, Feb.[February] 28, 1839.
AN ACT declaring the Des Plaines river a navigable stream.
1Des Plaines declared navigable.
Sec.[Section] 1. Be in enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That the Des Plaines river, from the point where it most nearly connects itself with the Illinois and Michigan canal to its source within the boundaries of this State, is hereby declared a navigable stream, and shall be deemed and held a public highway,
and shall be and remain free, open, and unobstructed, from the said point of connection
with the said canal to its utmost limit within this State, for the passage of all boats and water-crafts of every description.
Big Muddy navigable.
Fox river, in Clay co. navigable.
Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That the Big Muddy river, in Clay county, be, and the same is hereby, declared a navigable stream as high up as township number
five north, of range eight east; and Fox river, in Clay county, is also declared a navigable stream as high up as Watertown2; which said streams shall remain free, open, and unobstructed, for all boats and
water-crafts of every description whatever.
Approved, February 28, 1839.
1On February 2, 1839, Richard Murphy introduced HB 245 in the House of Representatives. The House read the bill twice and referred it to a select committee. On February
5, the select committee reported back the bill with an amendment to which the House
concurred. On February 13, the House passed the bill as amended. On February 27, the
Senate passed the bill. On February 28, the Council of Revision approved the bill and the act became law.
Journal of the House of Representatives of the Eleventh General Assembly of the State
of Illinois, at their First Session, Begun and Held in the Town of Vandalia, December
3, 1838 (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1838), 325, 348, 368, 392-93, 539, 554, 566; Journal of the Senate of the Eleventh General Assembly of the State of Illinois, at
their First Session, Begun and Held in the Town of Vandalia, December 3, 1838 (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1838), 331-32, 430, 441, 449.
Printed Document, 1 page(s), Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Eleventh General Assembly (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1839), 208, GA Session: 11-1,