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92_HR0971 LRB9216952RHrh 1 HOUSE RESOLUTION 2 WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of 3 Representatives are honored to recognize milestone events in 4 towns of the State of Illinois; and 5 WHEREAS, The City of Virden was first settled in 1829 and 6 surveyed in 1852; it officially became a town on June 21, 7 1852; 8 WHEREAS, Virden's first store was opened in 1852 and the 9 first post office began serving the public in 1853; and 10 WHEREAS, Virden was originally settled as an area of 11 agriculture and named for John Virden, who owned a hotel 12 where farmers from the surrounding country would stop to 13 spend the night on their trips from Springfield to Alton as 14 they drove their cattle and hogs to market; and 15 WHEREAS, The City of Virden owes much of its prosperity 16 to the mines; at one time there were three operating mines, 17 the first coal shaft sunk in 1868; the great coal beds that 18 underlie three-fifths of the surface of Illinois are an 19 important factor in the development of Virden; and 20 WHEREAS, The Virden Mine Battle of October 12, 1898 21 occurred when a train bringing strike breakers was met by 22 striking miners and resulted in a battle in which lives were 23 lost; and 24 WHEREAS, From 1926 through 1930, the famous Route 66 25 passed through the town of Virden; and 26 WHEREAS, The City of Virden celebrated its centennial 27 celebration in 1952; and 28 WHEREAS, In June 2002, the City of Virden will celebrate 29 its 150th anniversary; the celebration will be highlighted by 30 the motto, "Proud Past, Bright Future"; therefore, be it -2- LRB9216952RHrh 1 RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE 2 NINETY-SECOND GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that 3 we congratulate the City of Virden on the celebration of its 4 150th anniversary; and be it further 5 RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be 6 presented to the City of Virden as an expression of our 7 esteem.