By Dutton                                              H.R. No. 395
         76R8618 MDM-D                           
                                 R E S O L U T I O N
 1-1           WHEREAS, On March 24, 1999, many proud residents of Beaumont
 1-2     will gather in Austin to celebrate Beaumont Day at the State
 1-3     Capitol, and this festive event provides a fitting opportunity to
 1-4     extol the area's many virtues; and
 1-5           WHEREAS, Nestled deep in the heart of the East Texas Gulf
 1-6     Coast on the banks of the lower Neches River, Beaumont is a city
 1-7     with abundant natural resources and a significant place in Texas
 1-8     history; Spanish and French fur trappers inhabited the area in the
 1-9     early 1800s, followed in 1824 by the first family of settlers--Noah
1-10     and Nancy Tevis and their seven children; and
1-11           WHEREAS, Henry Millard, one of the city's organizers,
1-12     purchased 50 acres of the Noah Tevis survey for a townsite in 1835
1-13     and named it Beaumont, French for beautiful mountain; lumber
1-14     products, cattle ranching, and rice  farming were among the early
1-15     industries of the city, which became the county seat of Jefferson
1-16     County; and
1-17           WHEREAS, Beaumont's fortunes were forever changed on January
1-18     10, 1901, when the Anthony F. Lucas Gusher blew in at Spindletop,
1-19     creating the  Lone Star State's first boomtown and a new facet of
1-20     the nation's energy industry; 600 oil companies were formed,
1-21     including such industry giants as Texaco, Gulf, and Humble; and
1-22           WHEREAS, Though the city is home to one of the world's
1-23     largest refining and petrochemical complexes, Beaumont also ranks
1-24     as one of the state's largest  ports in total ship tonnage handled;
 2-1     residents have created a diverse economy by developing many
 2-2     thriving industries, including shipyards, lumber products, rice,
 2-3     salt, soybeans, blueberries, crawfish, wheat, grain sorghum,
 2-4     livestock, medical instruments, and precision industrial equipment;
 2-5     and
 2-6           WHEREAS, Beaumont's food, entertainment, and folkways are
 2-7     highly seasoned by the Cajun culture of nearby Louisiana, providing
 2-8     residents and visitors alike with a unique mix of cultural and
 2-9     recreational  offerings; outdoor enthusiasts can be found
2-10     year-round enjoying local parks, lakes, beaches,  marshlands,
2-11     rivers, and forests, as well as the Big Thicket National Preserve;
2-12     and
2-13           WHEREAS, The "Museum Capital of Texas," Beaumont has two
2-14     dozen museums located throughout the city; the world class Texas
2-15     Energy Museum houses the Western Company of Fort Worth and the
2-16     Lamar University Spindletop collections, valued at $6 million; the
2-17     official fire museum for the State of Texas displays horse-drawn
2-18     and antique motorized equipment, and the nearby Art Museum of
2-19     Southeast Texas promotes the visual arts and features, in addition
2-20     to its galleries, sculpture courtyards, an art library, and a tea
2-21     room; and
2-22           WHEREAS, Designed by Henry Conrad Mauer, the McFaddin-Ward
2-23     House is one of only a few restored Beaux-Arts colonial mansions in
2-24     the nation, while the John Jay French Museum, built in 1845, is the
2-25     oldest surviving residence in Beaumont and has been painstakingly
2-26     restored by the city's heritage society; and
2-27           WHEREAS, The city also provides area residents outstanding
 3-1     educational opportunities; Lamar University offers an excellent
 3-2     education to its 7,000-plus students while hosting sporting events
 3-3     and fine arts presentations for the citizens of Southeast Texas;
 3-4     the university's Institute of Technology offers programs of two
 3-5     years or less and its curriculum is focused on technical, business,
 3-6     health, and industrial education; and
 3-7           WHEREAS, Beaumont is renowned for its dynamic and
 3-8     forward-looking citizenry, and even as these notable Texans look
 3-9     with justifiable pride on their community's past, they are also
3-10     eager to embrace the challenges and opportunities of the years to
3-11     come; now, therefore, be it
3-12           RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 76th Texas
3-13     Legislature hereby recognize March 24, 1999, as Beaumont Day at the
3-14     State Capitol and extend a warm welcome to the members of the
3-15     delegation visiting on this day.