By Place                                         H.R. No. 265

      75R7843 WMS-F                           

                                 R E S O L U T I O N

 1-1           WHEREAS, March 3, 1997, has been selected by the citizens of

 1-2     Erath County as a special day to gather at the State Capitol to

 1-3     celebrate and recognize the contributions citizens of that fine

 1-4     county have made to the history and prosperity of our great state;

 1-5     and

 1-6           WHEREAS, Located in West Central Texas, Erath County was

 1-7     created in 1855 from land awarded to the heirs of John Blair for

 1-8     his outstanding service to the Republic of Texas at the Alamo in

 1-9     1836; they later conveyed a portion of the land to John M. Stephen,

1-10     for whom the city of Stephenville was named, and he contracted the

1-11     services of the county's namesake, surveyor George B. Erath; and

1-12           WHEREAS, The pioneering spirit of Erath County's earliest

1-13     residents is reflected today in the area's vibrant and energetic

1-14     atmosphere; in 1992, the state comptroller of public accounts

1-15     ranked the county fifth in economic development among the state's

1-16     205 rural counties for the previous five-year period and the county

1-17     seat of Stephenville was listed as one of the 100 best small towns

1-18     in America in a 1993 book compiled by Norman Crampton and published

1-19     by Prentice-Hall; and

1-20           WHEREAS, The citizens of Stephenville take special pride in

1-21     the Stephenville High School football team, which won the 1993 and

1-22     1994 Class 4A state championships, during which time it amassed a

1-23     formidable record of 32 wins and no defeats; and

1-24           WHEREAS, Dublin, the county's second-largest community, is

 2-1     renowned as the location of the oldest Dr Pepper bottling plant in

 2-2     the world; at the time of its opening in 1891, this historic

 2-3     facility was the first Dr Pepper franchise, and it is now the only

 2-4     plant that markets the original Dr Pepper formula; and

 2-5           WHEREAS, Erath County has a strong and diversified economy

 2-6     that is based largely on the production of agricultural products

 2-7     and it has earned recognition as the number one dairy county in the

 2-8     State of Texas; and

 2-9           WHEREAS, Further recognized as the "Cowboy Capital of the

2-10     Nation," Erath County has earned that distinction by being home to

2-11     a number of world-class rodeo athletes, including Ty Murray, who

2-12     won his sixth consecutive National Championship All-Around Cowboy

2-13     title at the 1994 National Finals Rodeo; and

2-14           WHEREAS, The county is also the site of Tarleton State

2-15     University, which was founded in 1899 through a bequest by pioneer

2-16     John Tarleton; the school, which currently boasts four

2-17     undergraduate colleges and one graduate college, continues to

2-18     flourish today with an enrollment of more than 6,400 students as a

2-19     member of the Texas A&M University System; and

2-20           WHEREAS, The citizens of Erath County are justifiably proud

2-21     of their county's history, culture, and myriad contributions to the

2-22     growth and development of the Lone Star State, and it gives the

2-23     members of this chamber great pleasure to join with their fellow

2-24     citizens in saluting this fine Texas county; now, therefore, be it

2-25           RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 75th Texas

2-26     Legislature hereby recognize March 3, 1997, as Erath County Day at

2-27     the State Capitol and extend best wishes to its citizenry on this

 3-1     noteworthy occasion; and, be it further

 3-2           RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be

 3-3     prepared  for the citizens of Erath County as an expression of high

 3-4     regard by the Texas House of Representatives.