[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 62 (Thursday, May 6, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E768-E769]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      RECOGNIZING THE 100TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE CITY OF SESSER, IL

                                 ______
                                 

                         HON. JERRY F. COSTELLO

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 6, 2004

  Mr. COSTELLO. Mr. Speaker, today I'd like my colleagues to join me in 
honoring the centennial of one of the oldest communities in my 
congressional district, Sesser, Illinois.
  Sesser's beginnings have a close relationship to the coal mining 
industry in southern Illinois. T. C. Keller came to Sesser from Indiana

[[Page E769]]

and began sinking a large mine shaft 647 feet deep, one and one-half 
miles southeast of town. Because of the sinking of the Keller mine and 
the extension of the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad into the 
rich coal fields of the region, Sesser was born. After it was 
discovered that a deep vein of coal lay under this area, the news 
traveled fast and people of many nationalities came to Sesser to work.
  Two railroad officials, John C. Elliot and John Sesser, a surveyor 
from whom Sesser received its name, laid out the original plat which 
contained a square of sixteen blocks. This original plat ran from the 
railroad to the City Hall and two blocks north and two blocks south of 
Main Street (Franklin Ave). Sesser was later appointed by President 
Woodrow Wilson as a member of the Railway Labor Board in Washington 
D.C. in 1920. Later he served as a Vice-President of the Cuban Railway.
  Homes and businesses sprang up fast. Most of the businesses were two 
story buildings with rooms above to handle the people coming to work in 
the mines in Sesser. In 1912, the Sesser City Board made contact with 
the Egyptian Light Company to furnish power and electric lights for the 
City. Sesser's first sidewalks were made from railroad ties with 
hitching racks along both sides of the street. In 1912, concrete 
sidewalks covered eight miles within Sesser.
  Sesser's first high school began in 1919, the opera house, drug 
stores, hotel and restaurants were soon opened. Water and sewer systems 
were completed in 1914 and a dial system was installed in 1954. 
Sesser's City Hall was completed in 1967 and the Franklin County 
Housing Authority approved 30 rental units in Sesser in 1968. Two 
factories serviced the Sesser area, Sesser Concrete was built in 1946, 
making concrete blocks and other products and Lyn Gai Garment Company 
manufactured ladies apparel.
  Sesser Sheltercare Home, a 60 bed health care facility, was opened in 
1970. This facility is located on farm property previously owned by my 
mother and father-in-law, George and Eloise Cockrum. This facility was 
purchased and renamed Redwood Manor. Several rural county schools were 
in session at one time and now they are housed in one location.
  Sesser today is a community of over 2000 and boasts hotels, 
restaurants and community churches. It remains a vital part of the 
economy of Franklin County and southern Illinois.
  This year, Sesser celebrates its centennial and also commemorates the 
49th year of the annual Sesser Homecoming, an event which draws people 
from throughout the region.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in honoring the founding 
of the community and the people of the City of Sesser, Illinois on the 
occasion of its 100th Anniversary.

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