Bill Text: IL HR0076 | 2011-2012 | 97th General Assembly | Introduced

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Bill Title: Congratulates the people of the Village of Palestine as they celebrate the community bicentennial.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2011-02-17 - Resolution Adopted [HR0076 Detail]

Download: Illinois-2011-HR0076-Introduced.html

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HOUSE RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The Village of Palestine has reached its historic
bicentennial year; and
WHEREAS, Palestine traces its history to 1678 and Captain
John LaMotte, a Frenchman and member of the French LaSalle
exploration party; he separated from his group and made his way
down the Wabash River; and
WHEREAS, The LaMotte family diary recalls Captain
LaMotte's words upon reaching the future Village of Palestine
area as "the prairie to the north and the woodland to the south
remind me of the land of milk and honey. This must be
Palestine!"; and
WHEREAS, Sometime around 1750 a Frenchman named Joseph
LaMotte, presumed descendant of Captain LaMotte, operated a
trading post on high ground near where LaMotte Creek feeds into
the Wabash River, just east of Palestine; and
WHEREAS, Around 1808 settlers began moving into the area;
early families included the Eatons, Shaws, Waldrops, McGaheys,
Kitchells, Brimberrys, Lagows, Newlins, Woodworths, Culloms,
Houstons, Woods, Kennedys, Van Winkles, Parkers, and Garrards;
and

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WHEREAS, By 1811 the bustling community was called LaMotte
Settlement, and oral tradition maintains that it received its
Land Charter on February 18th, 1811; the Settlement looked to
the city of Vincennes, Indiana for early guidance, especially
when hostilities erupted with Indian tribes and Fort LaMotte
was constructed; and
WHEREAS, During 1816 Edward Cullom and Joseph Kitchell
decided that the area should be better organized, with streets,
lots, and a public square; after purchasing property and
donating many acres, the layout of the community was
established; and
WHEREAS, For a brief time the Settlement's name was changed
to Mount Pleasant, but people remembered the story of Captain
LaMotte's words and by 1818 the name "Palestine" was chosen;
and
WHEREAS, The oldest settled community in Illinois, the
historic Village of Palestine continues into the present as a
solid community with more than 1,300 people, including some 625
households and 400 families, residing in the Village;
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE

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NINETY-SEVENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that
we congratulate the people of the Village of Palestine on this
momentous occasion and wish them a long and prosperous future
in the years to come; and be it further
RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be
presented to Mayor Patricia Schofield on behalf of the people
of the Village of Palestine.