By Salinas                                              H.R. No. 87
         76R4907 BE-F                           
                                 R E S O L U T I O N
 1-1           WHEREAS, On February 4, 1999, the Texas House of
 1-2     Representatives will join the proud residents of Jim Wells County
 1-3     in paying tribute to one of our state's richest economic and
 1-4     cultural centers; and
 1-5           WHEREAS, Jim Wells County and its county seat, Alice, are set
 1-6     deep in the heart of South Texas; the broad plains of rich soil
 1-7     that make up the area's geography are a patchwork of grassland and
 1-8     mesquite, post oak and live oak thickets, and cactus, and nearly
 1-9     half of the county is rated as prime farmland; and
1-10           WHEREAS, Some of the earliest inhabitants of this region
1-11     included Native American tribes such as the Chaguanes and
1-12     Payuguans, who were drawn by the mild winters and abundant game;
1-13     their pottery and stone tools can still be found, and deer,
1-14     javelina, turkey, and quail still haunt the oak stands and creek
1-15     banks; and
1-16           WHEREAS, In 1746, Spanish colonel Jose de Escandon was
1-17     commissioned to explore and colonize the part of New Spain that
1-18     stretched from Tampico in the south to the San Antonio River in the
1-19     north, and this included the future Jim Wells County; his
1-20     colonists, soldiers, and vaqueros long ago initiated the settlement
1-21     and ranching traditions that still define the area, and today in
1-22     Alice there is a monument to this early Lone Star hero, the "Father
1-23     of South Texas"; and
1-24           WHEREAS, Through the tumultuous years of competing claims
 2-1     between the Spanish and a young Republic of Texas, borders and
 2-2     their allegiances swayed as easily as the plains grasses, but with
 2-3     the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 the future of South Texas
 2-4     and Jim Wells County was firmly and successfully shaped; and
 2-5           WHEREAS, Fueled by the beef market, the economy of the county
 2-6     boomed in the years after the Civil War and the population
 2-7     increased as well; Alice was the busiest shipping point for cattle
 2-8     in South Texas, and the citizens' growing influence spurred demands
 2-9     for more centralized representation, resulting in the formal
2-10     organization of Jim Wells County in 1912; and
2-11           WHEREAS, Cattle are still a major force in the region's
2-12     economy, aided by cotton and sorghum, watermelons, grapefruit, and
2-13     oranges; the discovery of huge oil and natural gas reservoirs in
2-14     1931 begat tremendous growth, and  Jim Wells County is one of the
2-15     all-time leaders in oil production among Texas counties; and
2-16           WHEREAS, Because of its strategic location on the primary
2-17     trade route between the United States and Mexico, the county has
2-18     become a major point of international trade; the
2-19     soon-to-be-completed U.S. Highway 281 Relief Route, a component of
2-20     the federal I-69 International Trade Corridor, and the planned
2-21     State Highway 44 Relief Route, designated in 1998 as one of 10 High
2-22     Priority Corridors by the Texas Department of Transportation, will
2-23     certainly reinforce the area's prominence; and
2-24           WHEREAS, Residents of Jim Wells County are equally committed
2-25     to quality of life issues, including education and health care, and
2-26     in mid-summer of 1999 two new health facilities will be opened: the
2-27     Alice Regional Hospital and the Christus Spohn Hospital-Alice; and
 3-1           WHEREAS, The citizens of Jim Wells County have played an
 3-2     important role in Texas' economic and cultural history, and their
 3-3     many outstanding contributions to the Lone Star State are indeed
 3-4     worthy of special legislative recognition; now, therefore, be it
 3-5           RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 76th Texas
 3-6     Legislature hereby welcome the visiting delegates from Jim Wells
 3-7     County and declare February 4, 1999, as Jim Wells County Day at the
 3-8     State Capitol and that the members join with the many residents of
 3-9     the area in paying tribute to one of the state's finest counties;
3-10     and, be it further
3-11           RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
3-12     prepared for prominent display in Jim Wells County as a
3-13     commemoration of this occasion and as an expression of high regard
3-14     by the Texas House of Representatives.