In force, Feb.[February] 3, 1840.
AN ACT legalizing the State road between Washington and Pekin.
1Road from Pekin to Washington a State road
Sec.[Section] 1. Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly, That so much of the State road from Pekin to Washington, as lies east of the range line between township twenty-five north, range three
and four, west of the third principal meridian, and west of the bridge near Ratcliff’s, is hereby declared a State road, and shall be marked and kept in repair as other
State roads.2
Approved, February 3, 1840.
1Benjamin Mitchell presented a petition from Darius Phelps, Richard Ratliff, and others to the Senate on January 4, 1840, requesting the legalization of a state road between Washington and Pekin and the Senate referred it to the Committee on Public Roads. Joseph Borough introduced SB 157 on January 23. The Senate passed the bill on January 25. The House of Representatives passed the bill on January 31. The Council of Revision approved the bill on February 3 and the act became law.
Journal of the House of Representatives (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1840), 254, 268, 313; Journal of the Senate (Vandalia, IL: William Walters, 1840), 83, 166-67, 176, 233, 243.
2The portion of the road covered in this bill probably lies between Peoria and Washington.
“Counties, Townships, and Ranges in Illinois” in Martha L. Benner and Cullom Davis,
et al., eds., The Law Practice of Abraham Lincoln: Complete Documentary Edition, 2d ed. (Springfield: Illinois Historic Preservation Agency, 2009), http://www.lawpracticeofabrahamlincoln.org/Reference.aspx?ref=Reference html files/LandMeasurement.html.
Printed Document, 1 page(s), Laws of the State of Illinois, Passed by the Eleventh General Assembly, at their Special Session (Springfield, IL: William Walters, 1840), 112, GA Session: 11-S,