H.C.R. No. 61HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION WHEREAS, Texans are celebrating the sesquicentennial of the founding of Hill County and the City of Hillsboro on March 5, 2003, and such a joyous occasion is indeed worthy of special legislative recognition; and WHEREAS, Hill County was created from a western section of Navarro County on February 7, 1853, and organized at Lexington on Jack's Branch a few months later; its name pays tribute to Dr. George Washington Hill, a former Indian agent, secretary of war and secretary of marine in President Sam Houston's cabinet, and member of the Third, Fourth, Fifth, and Seventh Congresses of the Republic of Texas; and WHEREAS, The foundation for a permanent county seat, originally spelled Hillsborough, was laid in the fall of that same year when the county commissioners court ordered the surveying and platting of land donated for that purpose by Thomas M. Steiner, John A. Caruthers, and Jonathan Newby; and WHEREAS, Hill County and Hillsboro have long been identified with the agribusiness that formed one of the bases of the state's economy, and in recent years they have capitalized on their favorable geographic location and natural and cultural resources to generate a thriving local tourism industry; and WHEREAS, The county's recreational and cultural opportunities draw guests from throughout Texas and beyond to Lake Whitney State Park and Aquilla Lake, the Confederate Museum, and the Audie Murphy Gun Museum; in Hillsboro, visitors participate in Hill College activities, admire a restored courthouse, and enhance the local economy at antique malls and an outlet center; and WHEREAS, Since their organization 150 years ago, Hill County and the City of Hillsboro have been home to exceptional citizens who remain justifiably proud of their role in the dramatic story of the Lone Star State, and their contributions indeed merit our praise; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the 78th Legislature of the State of Texas hereby commemorate the sesquicentennial of the founding of Hill County and the City of Hillsboro, welcome the visiting delegation to the State Capitol, and extend warmest wishes to all those involved with this momentous event; and, be it further RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be prepared for the residents of Hillsboro and Hill County as an expression of high regard by the Texas House of Representatives and Senate. Pitts Craddick Giddings Merritt Allen Goodman Miller Alonzo Goolsby Moreno of Harris Bailey Griggs Moreno of El Paso Baxter Grusendorf Morrison Berman Guillen Mowery Bohac Gutierrez Naishtat Bonnen Haggerty Nixon Branch Hamilton Noriega Brown of Kaufman Hamric Oliveira Brown of Brazos Hardcastle Olivo Burnam Harper-Brown Paxton Callegari Hartnett Pena Campbell Heflin Phillips Canales Hegar Pickett Capelo Hilderbran Pitts Casteel Hill Puente Castro Hochberg Quintanilla Chavez Hodge Rangel Chisum Homer Raymond Christian Hope Reyna Coleman Hopson Riddle Cook of Navarro Howard Ritter Cook of Colorado Hughes Rodriguez Corte Hunter Rose Crabb Hupp Seaman Crownover Isett Smith of Tarrant Davis of Harris Jones of Lubbock Smith of Harris Davis of Dallas Jones of Bexar Smithee Dawson Jones of Dallas Solis Delisi Keel Solomons Denny Keffer of Dallas Stick Deshotel Keffer of Eastland Swinford Driver King Talton Dukes Kolkhorst Taylor Dunnam Krusee Telford Dutton Kuempel Thompson Edwards Laney Truitt Eiland Laubenberg Turner Eissler Lewis Uresti Elkins Luna Van Arsdale Ellis Mabry Villarreal Farabee Madden West Farrar Marchant Wilson Flores Martinez Fischer Wise Flynn McCall Wohlgemuth Gallego McClendon Wolens Garza McReynolds Wong Gattis Menendez Woolley Geren Mercer Zedler ______________________________ ______________________________ President of the Senate Speaker of the House I certify that H.C.R. No. 61 was adopted by the House on March 5, 2003, by a non-record vote. ______________________________ Chief Clerk of the House I certify that H.C.R. No. 61 was adopted by the Senate on March 5, 2003, by a viva-voce vote. ______________________________ Secretary of the Senate APPROVED: __________________ Date __________________ Governor