Governor Shadrach Bond, 1773-1832
CITY:
Chester
COUNTY:
Randolph
DEDICATED BY:
Chester Woman’s Club and The Illinois State Historical Society
DEDICATION DATE:
May 1, 1980 at 5:00:00 AM
The marker is located off of Route 3 in Chester’s Evergreen Cemetery near the Governor Bond Memorial.
Shadrach Bond, the first Governor of Illinois, was born November 24, 1773, in Fredericktown, Maryland. He came to Illinois in 1794 and farmed at New Design. In 1805 he was elected to the Indiana Territorial Assembly, where he was instrumental in creating the Illinois and Indiana boundaries. Bond was elected to Congress in 1812 as the first Territorial Delegate from Illinois. He served in both the Twelfth and Thirteenth Congresses. In 1818 Bond was elected Governor. During his term the capitol was moved from Kaskaskia to Vandalia, and a State Banking System was established.