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To the Honorable the Judge of the Circuit Court
of Sangamon County In Chancery Sitting
Nov. Term AD 1853
Your Orators Robert Cofflin, William Farnsworth and
Simeon Francis citizens of Springfield and of Sangamon
County and of the State of Illinois would most respectfully
represent unto your Honor that the Town of Springfield
was laid off by Elijah Iles and that part of it in
particular called and known as Old Town plat and
which was properly acknowledged by said Iles and duly
named in the [Recorders?] Office Sangamon County and
State of Illinois in Book [blank] page [blank]
and a copy of which said plat will be filed and
marked (A) and prayed to be taken as part of this
bill and your orators show that by said plat there
is a street called Sixth Street being Eighty feet wide
by virtue of which said plat, acknowledgment and rec
ording the street and the public grounds therein specified
became was and is in the town now City of Springfield
and that by virtue of the law said town or city hold the
legal title in said grounds for and as public highways
for the citizens of said Town now City and as public highw
ays for the citizens of said County and State aforesaid "and
"the land intended to be for streets alleys ways commons
"& public uses in any Town or City or addition thereto shall
"be held in the Corporate name thereof in trust to and for
"the uses and purposes set forth and intended or expressed"
And your orators would show that by virtue of said plat
survey acknowldgement and recording the same and
the marking Sixth Street thereon that Sixth Street was int
ended and expressed to be for a public highway for all
the citizens as well City, Town County and State and that
the same should remain open, free and unobstructed for
ever for the purpose of affording free passage way,
egrefs and regrefs for the Citizens aforesaid. And these
your orators make this complaint as all these rights
of Citizens of the City of Springfield, Citizens of Sangamon County and State
of Illinois and in which rights and capacities this bill is filed
Your Orators or one of your Orators would show that he
at one time promised verbally and not in writing or by deed
that if said Town now city of Springfield would build
erect and establish keep and maintain a good market
house in or about the Centre of said Sixth Street running
north and south along street and between [blank]
Street and [blank] Street and would also and likewise
keep erect and maintain a good quiet and respectable
town Hall, Mayors office and the other necessary civil
offices of said Town & City costing in all about fifteen
thousand Dollars and all of which should be erected
kept and maintained at the said point, place and
Street that your orator S. Francis would give [blank]
feet off the west side of his two lots lying on said
point place and said Street - P. C. Latham did the
same and as your orator is informed so did Joseph
Klein - said Latham is now deceased. And in further
ance of said verbal contract the said City as was
supposed accepted said proposition and entered the
same upon the records of the City but the same has
not been done in full and as was as supposed
a complete record kept of what the City was to do
but the same is and was not done, yet enough remains
on the records of said City to show that the said Town
did not do execute or perform their part of the Contr
act gift or dedication or rather did not perform the
condition precedent to a complete gift or dedication
Your orators therefore pray for a complete certified
record of the proceedings of said Town or City under seal
properly verified &C and a copy of which will
in due time be filed and marked (B) and is prayed
to be taken as part of this bill.
Your Orators would therefore
show that some time in the year AD 1837 or 1839
or about that time the said Town or City did erect a
kind of market house worth say five or six hundred
dollars and a poor shabby affair at that. Your
Orator S. Francis did in performance of the original under
standing throw off or give the said [blank] feet off the
west side of his lots and which was done and opened
or thrown off before the erection of the present nasty and
filthy meat shop and said Francis has never once
agreed or consented to this contemptible and wrongful
deviation from the original understanding and dedi
cation - that said market house is at the proper place
point and street as per understanding. Your orator
would further show that at no time was it the underst
anding between the donators as aforesaid that a common
public calaboose Sugar House & hog pen should be
erected in or near said point. Your orators show that
sometime in the year AD 1850 the said City of Sprin
gfield did erect, make and does now maintain in and
upon said street, place and point a city calaboose
Sugar House and a place or nucleus around which
filth and stench gather in dark clouds and in comp
any with which are the wild howls of the idiot, lunatic,
and inebriate nightly making noise and "confusion worse
confounded" Your orator S. Francis charges that
he has never dedicated any of his ground legally - he ch
arges that said Town or said City has not performed
its contract, nor has it accepted the dedication or
complied with the conditions upon which the verbal
gift aforesaid was to have been made, but has wholy
violated the same. And all your orators, said
Cofflin, Farnsworth and Francis charge that the
said market house is an obstruction to them and each
in their travel along over and upon the street aforesaid and
an obstruction to their view along [or?] up and down
said street - that they live upon said street - that said
market House and Calaboose is a hindrance and obstru
ction to their rights and businefses as citizens of said
City of Springfield - Citizens of Sangamon County and
as Citizens of the state of Illinois.
And your Orators further
charge that said market house is a nuisance, that
it is [illegible] to health and comfort and impares
health life and comfort and that it makes them and
their full and free enjoyment lefs commodious and dang
erous and lefs comfortable than they ought and would be
were it not for said erections &C.
Wherefore your orators pray that
said market house, calaboose and appurtinances be
declared a nuisance and a prepesture and that a writ
issue from this Honorable Court ordering said City and
Citizens to abate and wholy remove and demolish the
same or so much as will be proper So as to leave the street free, commodious, unimpeded,
free from nuisance, prepesture &C and wholy to them
Said Street open as it was accustomed to be and
that the same as former remain and for such further
order, decrees, writs and relief as is, may or shall
become necessary in the premises and as to your
Honor shall seem most just and proper in the
premises
In tender consideration consideration of
which premises your orators pray that the City of
Springfield may be made defendant to this bill
of complaint and that the Peoples writ of subpoena
issue for said Corporation defendant and that
it answer this your orators bill of complaint
according to law and the uses of this Honorable
Court and upon a final hearing your orators
now and will at all times pray &C
Lincoln & Herndon
Sol. for Complainants
262
Robt. Cofflin et al
[?] Bill
City of Springfield
Filed Oct 27 1853
J A Matheny Clerk