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PROPOSED RESOLUTION
A RESOLUTION TO COMMEMORATE LEYDEN TOWNSHIP'S 175TH ANNIVERSARY
WHEREAS Leyden Township is one of 30 townships in Cook County, Illinois, located 10 miles West of the Chicago Loop; and
WHEREAS In the 1840s farmers came to the area, which was then known as Orison; and
WHEREAS The organization of Leyden Township took place 175 years ago on April 2, 1850, at the house of Richard Fuller; and
WHEREAS Leyden Township was originally prairie except for a mile wide strip of timber extending from north to south along both sides of the Des Plaines River; and
WHEREAS The largest trees in this timber were white oak, two feet in diameter; and
WHEREAS The Chicago & Pacific Railroad laid tracks in Leyden Township in 1870, running them diagonally across the township along Old Army Trail or Grand Avenue, with a train station at 75th Avenue; and
WHEREAS Local speculators bought many of the smaller farms and subdivided the land for residential development; and
WHEREAS Farming gave way to home construction. Out of the prairie arose Bensenville, Elmwood Park, Franklin Park, Melrose Park, Norridge, Northlake, Park Ridge, River Grove, Rosemont, and: Schiller Park, all of which lie in whole or in part within the borders of Leyden Township; and
WHEREAS Unincorporated Leyden Township is home to approximately 10,000 residents; and
WHEREAS 16 public elementary schools operate within Leyden Township; and
WHEREAS Leyden Township is home to Leyden High School District 212, which operates East and West Leyden High Schools and Elmwood Park Community Unit School District 401; and
WHEREAS Leyden Township is also home to Triton Community College, located in River Grove; and
WHEREAS Leyden Township is dedicated to providing strong leadership and coordination of communities, maintaining and improving the quality of life for their residents; and
WHEREAS Leyden Township is proud to celebrate its Quartoseptcentennial Anniversary in 2025; and
NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that Coo...
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