| Morristown, now Mancuso Village Park, located in New Milford at the corner of Rotary and Ryberg Roads, came about in 1951 when Rockford resident Willam V Morris put up a trailer park on 80 acres he owned. As well as the trailer village, Morris owned the sewer and water facilities of the village and the Roundup Tavern located within the village. As a result of the trailer community's incorporation as Morristown in 1955 Sunday operating hours for the Roundup Tavern were established at a time when the only bars and liquor stores in Winnebago County open on Sunday were located in South Beloit and Rockton. This made the Roundup a fairly popular Sunday designation. Morris sold the village in 1966 to Robert Mancuso and the Roundup Tavern no longer exists. |
Morristown in the News
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INVITING TROUBLE Editorial County law-enforcement authorities are properly concerned over the provision in the proposed liquor code of the new village of Morristown which would permit taverns and package liquor stores within the incorporated limits to remain open until 2 a.m. every day of the week. The standard closing hour for liquor establishments throughout Winnebago county is 1 a.. Because of their proximity to Beloit, the city of South Beloit, and the village of Rockton operate on standard time throughout the year. For that reason places selling liquor in South Beloit and Rockton remain open in the summertime on hour longer than taverns in Rockford and other sections of Winnebago county which observe daylight-saving time. Only in South Beloit and Rockton do city and village ordinances permit taverns to be open every day of the week. Rockford, Cherry Valley, Pecatonica, Durand, Roscoe, and Winnebago all require liquor establishments to be closed on Sunday. Sheriff Leonard Friberg hopes to discourage the Morristown board of trustees from adopting the 2 a.m. closing hour. The sheriff called attention to the hazards which would be created if the village took it upon itself to become the mecca of drinkers wanting an extra hour of imbibing after taverns in the rest of the county close. The extra hour might be profitable to tavern owners, but it would add to the grief of the village, the sheriff’s office and the tavern patrons. It also would add to the hazards of the highway. “All over the county, incorporated cities and villages have gone along with Winnebago county limits, which means 1 a.m. closing, “ the sheriff said. “That is the way it should be.” If Morristown adopts a 2 a.m. closing and stays on standard time, its taverns would be permitted to remain open two hours longer than those in Rockford during the spring, summer, and fall months when daylight time is in effect here. Such a situation would create a serious problem for law-enforcement authorities. The recently incorporated village of Morristown is on an 80-acre tract on the northwest corner of Camp Rotary and Rydberg roads, southeast of New Milford. William V. Morris, who led the incorporation movement, is a former tavern proprietor who owns the entire tract. The village has about 165 residents, the majority of them living in a trailer camp run by Morris, Since the creation of the village of Morristown by referendum last April, there have been signs that a mushrooming of tiny villages in Winnebago county might develop. If such villages are created for the purpose of getting out of step with established and standardized liquor regulations in the county, there is bound to be trouble. --Rockford Morning Star, Friday, Sept. 16, 1955 Nash To Seek State Action On Morristown Gambling George A. Roding, president of the Morristown village board, has notified State’s Atty. William R. Nash the village plans no action against the Roundup Tavern owners who were convicted last month of gambling charges. Roding’s notice drew immediate criticism from Nash, who said he will turn the case over to the Illinois Liquor Control Commission. “The indicates to me there is nor liquor control enforcement being carried on in the village.” Nash said. “One of the defendants (in the gambling case) is a village trustee and a tavern owner. Perhaps this is some explanation of the lack of control” Roding said the board found no reason to revoke or suspend the Roundup Tavern’s license. William V. Morris, 2006 El Rancho Road, and Reno Sandona, 920 Oakley Ave., were convicted and fined $200 each in Justice Court following a raid at the tavern in which a gambling wheel and numbers tickets were found in a storeroom. Although neither lives in Morristown, both are officers of the tavern corporation and Morris is a village trustee. Despite the conviction, Roding said, “The mere possession or existence of a gambling device without it being used for gambling purposes on the premises where it was stored would not legally make the premises a gambling place and the statutes specifically provide that the premises must be determined by court to be a gambling place before any license could be suspended or revoked.” Nash said, however, “The offense they were convicted of is gambling. Keeping gambling devices is gambling.” --The Rockford Morning Star, Oct. 6, 1962 Morristown Flouts Law By Hal Nelson, Associate Editot Lack of home rule enforcement of liquor laws in Morristown’s Roundup Tavern should be a matter of serious concern to all of us. Morristown is a trailer village with an ever-changing population of an estimated 162 families, located a short distance from New Milford, south of Rockford, in Winnebago County. It was incorporated as a village in 1955 despite predictions that the chief purpose behind incorporation of the village was the licensing of a tavern for Sunday liquor sales. A tavern was opened almost immediately. The license was granted, as expected, to William V. Morris, who owns practically the entire 80 acres within the village limits, and to Reno P. Sandona. Both are now Rockford residents. Morris, despite his residence in Rockford, is a member of the board of trustees of the village. It was this board which licensed this Sunday liquor oasis. Later, a liquor club was established within the village limits. Of course, violations of state liquor laws resulted. Especially in regards to gambling and sales of liquor to minors. Most recent raid was stage last August, when county authorities confiscated gambling equipment found in the tavern. Both Morris and Sandona were found guilty and assessed fine and court costs totaling $446.50. In Rockford, discovery of gambling equipment in a tavern or club means an automatic closing for at least five days for a first offense and possible loss of license for the second offence. What happened in Morristown? George A. Roding, who holds the office of village president, ruled there were no grounds to either suspend or revoke the Roundup Tavern License. State’s Attorney William R. Nash has since asked the Illinois Liquor Control Commission to act because of this breakdown of home rule. The state commission can revoke the tavern’s state license--which would invalidate the village license. This isn’t the first time that county authorities have sought aid from the state liquor commission in dealing with gambling in Morristown. Three years ago Congressman John B. Anderson, then state’s attorney, appealed for similar action after a 1959 Morristown gambling raid. The commission passed the responsibility back to the Morristown liquor commission. Nothing was done. Anderson then tried to get the state legislature, through State Senator Robert Canfield, to amend state statutes to place liquor licensing and law enforcement in communities of less than 1,000 population under the county liquor commission. This proposal failed because of objections of long-established villages in the 500 to 1,000 population class. It doesn’t make sense that a single individual who owns all the property within the borders of a community should be a law unto himself--either in the sale of liquor on Sunday, in operation of gambling devices, or any other controls which affect the lives the people who rent living quarters from him. State regulations governing the incorporation of villages should be strengthened. So should county and state control over taverns which operate in communities like Morristown--and before a successful legal battle forced dissolution of the village of Rainbow Garden in Boone County It’s easy to say that the people living in Morristown legally can elect trustees who could enforce the liquor code and bar Sunday drinking and gambling in the tavern. But such action would hardly please their landlord--and he now doesn’t levy any taxes against them and owns all of the public works facilities. --Rockford Morning Star, Oct. 21-1962
Deputy Gets Broken Wrist In Bar Fight Winnebago County Deputy Sheriff Lavern Fuhrer suffered a broken wrist Sunday in a fracas with a patron he was ejecting from the Roundup Tavern in Morristown. Fuhrer reported he told Thomas Roskopp, 25, 1017 42nd Ave., to leave the tavern and Roskopp attempted to hit him with a beer bottle. He said he struck at Roskipp with a judo chip and was injured in the ensuing scuffle. The deputy is employed part-time to keep order in the Morristown tavern which is open on Sundays. Roskopp was arrested and jailed on charges of drunkenness, battery, disorderly conduct and assault with a deadly weapon. Bond was set at $700. He was arrested by Fuhrer and a squad of deputies who came to Fuhrer’s aid. Fuhrer was taken to St. Anthony Hospital for treatment. --Rockford Morning Star, March 12, 1963
Morris--William V. Morris, 73, 2509 Driftwood Lane, died at 3:53 p.m. Monday Oct, 31, 1977, in St. Anthony Hospital after a long illness. Born Aug. 29, 1904, in Brookport, son of Mr. and Mrs. William R. Morris. Lived years in Rockford, coming from Corning, Ark. Married the former Ellen J. Anderson in Rockford Jan. 17, 1954. He was the founder of the village of Morristown, formerly owning most of the land and operating the trailer park, as well and the Roundup Tavern, also owning Midwest Distributing Co. and Bill Morris Music. Attended Trinity Lutheran Church. Member of Rockford Moose Club and Mauh-Nah-Tee-See Country Club. Survivors include his wife, Ellen; a son, William F., Rockford; a daughter, Mrs. Edith G. Gable, Aurora; three grandchildren; three great-grand-children; a sister, Mrs. Edith Johnson, Rockford; and a nephew, Richard Johnson. Services at 1 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 3 in FRED C. OLSON MORTUARY, 1001 2nd Ave., with the Rev. O. Garfield Beckstrand, pastor of Trinity Lutheran Church, officiating. Burial in Scandinavian Cemetery. Friend may call at the mortuary form 7 to 8:30 p.m. --Rockford Morning Star, Thursday, Nov. 3, 1977
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