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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION TO COMMEMORATE THE VILLAGE OF PALOS PARK'S 110th ANNIVERSARY
WHEREAS, Palos Park is a village in southwestern Cook County; and
WHEREAS, Geography played an important role in the settling and shaping of Palos Park; and
WHEREAS, Glaciers left behind forested ravines, freshwater springs, and fertile farmland which became home to the Potawatomi and other Native American tribes before the French explorers passed through the Palos area; and
WHEREAS, French earthwork ruins, coins and Native American pottery pieces were found on area farms; and
WHEREAS, In 1834 the Paddock family were the first Europeans to settle in Palos, closely followed by John D. McCord, Samuel Mahaffay, Adam Boyce, George Pettijohn, Robert Lucas, and others; and
WHEREAS, Some early settlers built log houses, then cut and transported timber to the growing city of Chicago on canal barges for construction or fuel; and
WHEREAS, Other settlers scratched out a place in the hills or fertile flatland of the south township, raising cattle, chickens, pigs, and goats; and
WHEREAS, They farmed the land with horse and plow, growing all the food they would need to survive in the remote area of early Palos; and
WHEREAS, The construction of the I&M Canal in 1848 would bring immigrant workers to the area, with the population of early settlers consisting of farmers, laborers, blacksmiths and wood cutters; and
WHEREAS, In 1850, Palos Township received its name from the first Postmaster, Melachan A. Powell, who renamed it from "Trenton". Powell's cabin also housed the first school in 1838; and
WHEREAS, By the late 1880s, there would be six one-room framed school houses in Palos Township; and
WHEREAS, The arrival of the Wabash Railroad in the 1890s opened the remote rural community of Palos, giving residents a new accessibility to the city and its opportunities. Residents began traveling to the city for work, so farmers began subdividing their land for development...
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