[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 3 (Thursday, January 5, 2017)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E27]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        BOND COUNTY BICENTENNIAL

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. JOHN SHIMKUS

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 5, 2017

  Mr. SHIMKUS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge the 
bicentennial anniversary of Bond County in my home state of Illinois.
  Bond County was created on January 4th, 1817 by an act of the 
Illinois Territorial Legislature. This event occurred nearly two years 
before Illinois was admitted into the Union as the 21st state.
  The initial dimensions of Bond County were quite unique, as it was 
only 24 miles wide, but stretched over 600 miles north to include a 
portion of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. The county gets its name from 
Shadrach Bond, who had been an army colonel in the War of 1812, and, 
given the county's initial layout, had farmed well north of present-day 
Bond County. Shadrach Bond also served as the first governor of 
Illinois.
  Over time Bond County gave birth to numerous other counties in the 
state, and ceded some of its land to Wisconsin and Michigan as well, so 
that today Bond County is one of the smaller counties in Illinois. Yet 
its rich history, along with the spirit and pride of its people, has 
outlasted all of these changes.
  This year Bond County has planned a grand celebration in recognition 
of its bicentennial. This celebration began on January 5th with a 
commemorative program and a special proclamation by the County Board. 
Later this year, on July 2nd, the main celebration will occur with 
tours, a parade, food and many other activities, climaxing with a 
fireworks show.
  I ask that we all join in that celebration as we pay tribute to the 
history and the people that made Bond County, and to the pioneering 
spirit that lives today in all of its citizens.
  I stand today to salute Bond County on its 200th anniversary and to 
wish it the very best in the future.

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