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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The stagecoach, a quintessential symbol of the |
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American frontier, played a pivotal role in the founding of the city |
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of Bridgeport and continues to hold special significance to the |
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community to this day; and |
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WHEREAS, Bridgeport traces its beginnings to 1860, when a |
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group organized by William H. Hunt secured a charter from the West |
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Fork Bridge Company to construct a bridge that would allow |
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stagecoaches with the Overland Mail Company to traverse the West |
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Fork of the Trinity River; the shipment of supplies by stagecoaches |
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and wagons became integral to Bridgeport's economy and helped shape |
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the community's development in its early decades; and |
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WHEREAS, With its annual Butterfield Stage Days Festival, |
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Bridgeport has long celebrated its origin as a stop on the historic |
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Butterfield Overland Mail route, which stretched from St. Louis, |
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Missouri, and Memphis, Tennessee, to San Francisco, California; in |
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recent years, the route has garnered increased recognition for its |
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historical importance, and it was officially designated as the |
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Butterfield Overland National Historic Trail in January 2023; and |
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WHEREAS, In addition to Butterfield Stage Days, Bridgeport |
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incorporates the stagecoach into a number of other annual events, |
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and the Bridgeport Visitor Center houses a replica Abbot-Downing |
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Concord coach, a stagecoach originally manufactured in 1827; |
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moreover, the city's efforts as part of the Texas Main Street |
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Program also incorporate the stagecoach as an embodiment of |
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Bridgeport's historic past and frontier spirit; and |
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WHEREAS, Through its legacy as a historic transportation |
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waypoint and its connection to the famed Butterfield Overland Mail |
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route, Bridgeport contributed to the development of our state and |
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nation, and its citizens continue to derive a special sense of pride |
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and identity from their city's association with one of the West's |
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most iconic symbols, the stagecoach; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 88th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby redesignate Bridgeport as the official Stagecoach Capital of |
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Texas; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That, in accordance with the provisions of Section |
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391.003(e), Government Code, this designation remain in effect |
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until the 10th anniversary of the date this resolution is finally |
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passed by the legislature. |