1-1     By:  McReynolds (Senate Sponsor - Ogden)             H.C.R. No. 105
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 9, 2001;
 1-3     April 9, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on Natural
 1-4     Resources; May 10, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote:
 1-5     Yeas 4, Nays 0; May 10, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                         HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
 1-7           WHEREAS, The community of Weches in Houston County is one of
 1-8     the oldest settlements in the state, having been settled before
 1-9     1847; and
1-10           WHEREAS, Weches is located in the Piney Woods of East Texas
1-11     within the boundary of the Davy Crockett National Forest; and
1-12           WHEREAS, Founded near the site of the first Spanish mission
1-13     in the region, which had been established nearly 150 years before,
1-14     Weches now borders on the Mission Tejas State Historical Park; and
1-15           WHEREAS, The hamlet was first named "Neches" after the nearby
1-16     river; however, when the residents of the community applied for a
1-17     post office in 1887, they found that the name "Neches"  had already
1-18     been claimed by another town; and
1-19           WHEREAS, Undaunted, the townspeople substituted "Weches,"
1-20     which remains the community's name more than 100 years later; and
1-21           WHEREAS, The people of Weches have been burying their
1-22     departed loved ones in the Weches Cemetery for the past century,
1-23     and the cemetery is now in need of expansion; and
1-24           WHEREAS, Most of the land surrounding the Weches Cemetery is
1-25     part of the Mission Tejas State Historical Park, controlled by the
1-26     Texas Parks and Wildlife Department; and
1-27           WHEREAS, It is in the public interest for the people of
1-28     Weches to preserve and expand their historic burial place to have
1-29     continued access to this local landmark for funeral ceremonies and
1-30     burials; now, therefore, be it
1-31           RESOLVED, That the 77th Legislature of the State of Texas
1-32     hereby respectfully direct the Texas Parks and Wildlife Commission
1-33     and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to negotiate an
1-34     exchange or sale of state park land in Houston County to the Weches
1-35     Cemetery Association for the purpose of expanding their city
1-36     cemetery; and, be it further
1-37           RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official
1-38     copies of this resolution to the chair of the Texas Parks and
1-39     Wildlife Commission and the executive director of the Texas Parks
1-40     and Wildlife Department.
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