By McReynolds                                        H.C.R. No. 105
         77R5629 NBH-D                           
                             HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-1           WHEREAS, The community of Weches in Houston County is one of
 1-2     the oldest settlements in the state, having been settled before
 1-3     1847; and
 1-4           WHEREAS, Weches is located in the Piney Woods of East Texas
 1-5     within the boundary of the Davy Crockett National Forest; and
 1-6           WHEREAS, Founded near the site of the first Spanish mission
 1-7     in the region, which had been established nearly 150 years before,
 1-8     Weches now borders on the Mission Tejas State Historical Park; and
 1-9           WHEREAS, The hamlet was first named "Neches" after the nearby
1-10     river; however, when the residents of the community applied for a
1-11     post office in 1887, they found that the name "Neches"  had already
1-12     been claimed by another town; and
1-13           WHEREAS, Undaunted, the townspeople substituted "Weches,"
1-14     which remains the community's name more than 100 years later; and
1-15           WHEREAS, The people of Weches have been burying their
1-16     departed loved ones in the Weches Cemetery for the past century,
1-17     and the cemetery is now in need of expansion; and
1-18           WHEREAS, Most of the land surrounding the Weches Cemetery is
1-19     part of the Mission Tejas State Historical Park, controlled by the
1-20     Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; and
1-21           WHEREAS, It is in the public interest for the people of
1-22     Weches to preserve and expand their historic burial place to have
1-23     continued access to this local landmark for funeral ceremonies and
1-24     burials; now, therefore, be it
 2-1           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
 2-2     hereby respectfully direct the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission
 2-3     and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to negotiate an
 2-4     exchange or sale of state park land in Houston County to the Weches
 2-5     Cemetery Association for the purpose of expanding their city
 2-6     cemetery; and, be it further
 2-7           RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
 2-8     copies of this resolution to the chair of the Texas Parks and
 2-9     Wildlife Commission and the executive director of the Texas Parks
2-10     and Wildlife Department.