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On August 14, 1743 the French government issued a patent to the inhabitants of Kaskaskia for a commons which first had been granted to them ca. 1720. (Patent recorded in TRANSCRIPTS OF DOCUMENTS COLLECTED BY THE BOARD, RS 952.004, Vol. A, pp. 343-344.) The rights of the Kaskaskia inhabitants subsequently were confirmed by the British in 1763 and by the U.S. Congress in 1810. The congressional confirmation was based on a recommendation submitted in 1809 by the Board of Commissioners created to review claims at the Kaskaskia Land District Office.
When Illinois was admitted to the Union its first constitution similarly confirmed the grant and also prohibited the lease, sale, or division of the commons in any manner. The Constitution of 1848 reversed this stand, however, allowing it to be leased, sold, or divided when requested by a petition of a majority of the qualified voters interested in the commons.
In 1851 the General Assembly created a corporation called the President and Trustees of the Commons of Kaskaskia which was composed of five citizens of the village elected biennially by its inhabitants
(Priv. L. 1851, p. 5). The corporation was to survey and divide the commons, record the plat of such survey, and lease the lots at public auction for a period not to exceed fifty years. Proceeds of the leases were to be applied toward the education of the children of
Kaskaskia, including the erection or purchase of one or two buildings for schools, the employment of teachers, and the establishment of a library for the schools.
Surveys of the commons were conducted in 1855, 1867, 1889, 1890, and 1901 respectively; and the land surveyed under each was subsequently leased. In 1905 when the fifty-year leases made on the lots surveyed in 1855 expired the President and Trustees of the Commons of Kaskaskia made several controversial decisions regarding the methods of re-leasing the lots. A suit was brought in the Illinois Supreme Court in 1909 charging fraud and collusion between the trustees and the residents of the village in making the re-leases as well as charging misappropriation of funds (Stead v. Commons of Kaskaskia, 243 Ill. 239). The court upheld the charges and determined that the power to authorize a sale of land rested with the State of Illinois.
As a result an act passed in 1909 instructed the Governor to appoint three Land Commissioners of the Commons of Kaskaskia to sell the commons and create a permanent school fund for the inhabitants of Kaskaskia from the proceeds of the sales (L. 1909, p. 425). The land commissioners were to take possession of all records and real and personal property relating to the commons from the president and trustees of the commons and were to have the area resurveyed and platted. They were then to appraise the lands and file a certified copy of the appraisals and plats with the Auditor of Public Accounts, along with a list of lessees and persons in possession of said lots and a brief description of the leases.
Lessees were allowed preemption rights for the purchase of the lots; if not sold to the lessees, the lots then were to be sold at public auction. The Commissioners also were to lease unleased and unsold lots and collect rent thereon. When the sales were completed and all work finished in January 1913, the commissioners made a final report to the Governor and turned over all proceeds to the State Treasurer to be kept in the separate Kaskaskia Commons Permanent School Fund. All notes, mortgages, securities, plats, and other records were turned over to the Auditor of Public Accounts.
363.001
MINUTES OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE COMMONS OF KASKASKIA. May 16, 1851-March 26, 1910. 1 vol. and 2 partial vols. No index.
Minutes of regular meetings of the trustees concern election of officers; employment of teachers; leases and re-leases of lots; construction, purchase, and rental of facilities for use as schoolhouses; costs of surveying; payment of rent and teacher's salary for "colored" school; sales of lumber from unrented portion of commons; encroachment of Mississippi River; and approvals of payments for repairs, bell for schoolhouse, lumber, and other supplies and labor. In addition to minutes record also includes tabular statements of lots leased which include entries for name of lessee, lot number, number of acres in lot, price per acre, and total rent charged.
363.002
JOURNAL OF THE TREASURER OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE COMMONS OF
KASKASKIA. August 25, 1855-December 25, 1909. 3 vols. No index.
Chronological account is of receipts and disbursements made by the treasurer of the Trustees of the Commons of
Kaskaskia. Entries generally include date, amount, and cause of receipt or disbursement; name of payee or
payor; and warrant number for disbursement. Causes for receipts are primarily leases of lots and entries include survey number, lot number, name of lessee, number of acres in lot, price per acre, and amount paid. Causes for disbursements include purchases of buildings, equipment, and supplies; rent; surveys; insurance; hauling of coal; and election fees. A note in last volume states that these collections on leases were stopped by injunction on November 29, 1909.
363.003
REGISTER OF WARRANTS ISSUED BY THE TREASURER OF THE TRUSTEES OF THE COMMONS OF
KASKASKIA. April 19, 1888-December 25, 1909. 2 vols. No index.
List of warrants issued with acknowledgments of their receipt by warrantees includes date, number, and amount of warrant; name of warrantee; cause for disbursement (e.g., teachers' and pastors' salaries, freight, printing, lumber, repairs to buildings and roads, advertising, hauling, carpentry work, rent, other labor and supplies); and signature of warrantee acknowledging receipt.
Also included is a list of lots offered for sale on December 16, 1893 in the Commons Addition to the village of Kaskaskia with entries for block number, lot number, name of purchaser, amount of initial payment, and total purchase price.
363.004
LEDGER OF TEACHERS' SALARIES. October 11, 1870-March 31, 1888. 1 partial vol. No index.
Ledger consists of balanced accounts for teachers employed by the Trustees of the Commons of
Kaskaskia. Entries for salary payments are arranged chronologically under each teacher's name and include date and amount of payment and number of months each payment covers.
363.005
DUPLICATE COPIES OF LEASE DEEDS. December 20, 1882-April 1, 1905. 1 partial vol. No index.
Duplicate copies are of lease deeds issued by the trustees on lots surveyed after 1882 and on re-leases of lots surveyed prior to 1882 for which original leases reverted for nonpayment of rent. Entries for each lease include date lease issued, name of lessee, lot number, survey number, date leased at public or private sale, date lease commenced, number of years for which leased, number of acres in lot, and price per acre.
363.006
MINUTES OF THE LAND COMMISSIONERS OF THE COMMONS OF KASKASKIA. May 12, 1910-January 3, 1913. 1 vol. No index.
Minutes of regular meetings of the Land Commissioners concern receipt of real and personal property, records, and other material from the president and trustees of the Commons of
Kaskaskia; survey and appraisal of lots; damage done to crops by surveyors and compensation to lessees as a result; sales and leases of lots; and lists of funds, records, and other material turned over the State Treasurer and Auditor of Public Accounts when commissioners completed their work.
In addition to minutes record also includes a register of lots sold July 6, 1911-July 8, 1912 by land commissioners. Entries for each sale include number of original survey conducted by trustees in which lot was included, date of sale, legal description of lot, number of acres, appraised value of land, name of lessee, name of purchaser, purchase price per acre, total purchase price, and the date and amount of payment.
363.007
JOURNAL OF THE TREASURER OF THE LAND COMMISSIONERS OF THE COMMONS OF
KASKASKIA. May 14, 1910-November 15, 1912. 1 vol. No index.
Chronological account is of receipts and disbursements made by the treasurer of the Land Commissioners of the Commons of
Kaskaskia. Entries generally include date and amount of receipt or disbursement, name of payee or
payor, and warrant numbers for disbursements. Entries for receipts primarily are made for rental or sale of lots and for interest on notes for lots and include lot number, survey number, and name of lessee, purchaser, or note holder. Individuals and firms to which disbursements were made include teachers, newspapers, and business firms.
363.008
RECORD OF APPRAISED VALUES AND DESCRIPTIONS OF LEASES. Ca. 1911-1912. 1 vol. No index.
Record is of appraisals made by land commissioners on each lot with description of leases held on lot. Entries for each lot include original survey number, lot number, number of acres, appraised value of land and of improvements made, and name and address of lessee claiming preemption rights to land and improvements. Descriptions of leases include date of lease (1855-1905), duration of lease, rental price per acre, and remarks on current state of lease (e.g., lease not found, forfeited, canceled by decree of court, name of person signing lease).
363.009
PLATS OF LOTS IN KASKASKIA COMMONS. Ca 1911-1912. 1 vol. No index.
Plats were compiled by Land Commissioners of the Commons of
Kaskaskia. Entries for each lot include original survey number, lot number, fair cash value of lot and improvements, number of acres in lot, measurement of boundaries of lot in feet, and elevation above sea level. Plats themselves indicate various natural and manmade features within lots including areas covered by woods, sloughs, swamps, willows, and cultivated ground; old border of riverbank; and locations and occasionally types of improvements (e.g., pumps, barns, cisterns, windmills, kitchens, warehouses, hen houses).
These records are available at the Illinois State Archives, Office of the Secretary of State.
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