H.R. No. 14
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, The city of Dallas, which has contributed so much to
the development of Texas and done so much to define Texas in the
eyes of the world, is celebrating its 150th anniversary in 2006; and
WHEREAS, Founded by John Neely Bryan near a ford on the
Trinity River, Dallas was platted in 1844 and incorporated on
February 2, 1856; it has served as the county seat of Dallas County
ever since the latter jurisdiction was organized in 1846; and
WHEREAS, Dallas quickly became a service center for the
surrounding area and had a recorded population of 678 on the eve of
the Civil War; in addition to North American Anglos and African
Americans, residents included Belgians, Swiss, Germans, and
French; following the war, many freed slaves migrated to Dallas in
search of work and settled in freedmen's towns on the outskirts of
the city; and
WHEREAS, The arrival of the Houston and Texas Central Railway
in 1872 and the Texas and Pacific Railway in 1873 secured the city's
future; from 3,000 citizens in 1870, the population rose to more
than 10,000 in 1880 and soared to over 38,000 in 1890, when Dallas
ranked as the largest city in Texas; advantageously situated,
Dallas shipped such raw materials to northern and eastern markets
as cotton, leather, and--until the southern herd was
extinguished--buffalo hides; and
WHEREAS, By 1900, Dallas boasted the largest inland cotton
market in the world and also ranked as the world's chief
manufacturer of saddlery and cotton-gin machinery; in addition to
its importance as a hub for trade, it had become a center for the
banking and insurance industries; and
WHEREAS, The effects of the Great Depression were somewhat
mitigated in Dallas by the discovery of oil in East Texas in 1930;
Dallas bankers pioneered the concept of allowing petroleum
companies to use oil in the ground as collateral, and Dallas quickly
became a center for petroleum financing; the Dallas economy also
benefited from a major engineering project to move and straighten
the Trinity River channel and from the city's selection to host the
Texas Centennial in 1936; and
WHEREAS, With the establishment of war-related industries in
Dallas during World War II, the city evolved into a major
manufacturing center, and the end of the war brought a rush of
development reminiscent of the boom that followed the coming of the
railroads; in the 1950s and 1960s, such companies as Texas
Instruments, Ling-Temco-Vought, and Electronic Data Systems helped
to make Dallas the third-largest technology center in the country,
while Dallas Market Center, established originally as a home
furnishings mart in 1957, now constitutes the largest wholesale
merchandise resource in the world; and
WHEREAS, Further consolidating the city's prominence in the
arenas of business and finance was the opening, in 1974, of the
Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport; and
WHEREAS, Among the many pillars on which the fame of Dallas
rests, one of the proudest is education; the city is home to
Southern Methodist University, The University of Texas
Southwestern Medical School, Paul Quinn College, Dallas Baptist
University, and several campuses of Dallas County Community
College; and
WHEREAS, The arts, too, have enriched the life of the city and
brought it renown; Dallas enjoys the distinction of being home to
the first modern, nonprofit professional resident theater in the
country, the first museum in the world dedicated solely to modern
and contemporary sculpture, and the largest urban cultural district
in the nation; and
WHEREAS, For many, Dallas is indelibly linked with another
realm of endeavor, professional sports; today, the city's major
league franchises include the Dallas Cowboys, the Dallas Mavericks,
and the Dallas Stars, and their respective seasons are followed by
legions of fans; the city also has a long history of amateur,
semiprofessional, and minor league sports, and the first high
school football team in Texas is thought to have been organized in
Dallas in 1900; and
WHEREAS, The evolution of Dallas has been accompanied by
several changes in the structure of its government; installed in
1856, the first leaders of the young community included Mayor
Samuel B. Pryor and six aldermen; a half-century later, in 1907,
Dallas adopted the commission form of government, and in 1930 the
city chose a council-manager arrangement, with council members
elected at large; and
WHEREAS, Sworn into office in 1931, the first Dallas City
Council included Mayor T. L. Bradford and members W. H. Painter,
Joe C. Thomas, T. M. Cullum, A. B. Moore, H. C. Burroughs, Victor H.
Hexter, Charles F. Turner, and E. R. Brown; and
WHEREAS, Dallas switched to single-member districts in 1971,
and the number of those districts was expanded to 14 in 1992; the
present city council is composed of Mayor Laura Miller; deputy
mayor pro tem Dr. Elba Garcia, District 1; Pauline Medrano,
District 2; Ed Oakley, District 3; Dr. Maxine Thornton-Reese,
District 4; mayor pro tem Donald W. Hill, District 5; Steve Salazar,
District 6; Leo V. Chaney, Jr., District 7; James L. Fantroy,
District 8; Gary Griffith, District 9; Bill Blaydes, District 10;
Linda Koop, District 11; Ron Natinsky, District 12; Mitchell
Rasansky, District 13; and Angela Hunt, District 14; and
WHEREAS, Those who have served as mayor of Dallas are Samuel
B. Pryor, 1856-1857; John McClannahan Crockett, 1857-1858; Isaac
Naylor, 1858; A. D. Rice, 1858-1859; John M. Crockett, 1859-1861;
J. L. Smith, 1861; Thomas E. Sherwood, 1861-1862; John M. Crockett,
1865-1866; John M. Lane, 1866; George W. Guess, 1866-1868; Benjamin
Long, 1868-1870; Henry Ervay, 1870-1872; Benjamin Long, 1872-1874;
W. L. Cabell, 1874-1876; John D. Kerfoot, 1876-1877; W. L. Cabell,
1877-1879; J. M. Thurmond, 1879-1880; J. J. Good, 1880-1881; J. W.
Crowdus, 1881-1883; W. L. Cabell, 1883-1885; John Henry Brown,
1885-1887; Winship C. Connor, 1887-1894; Bryan T. Barry, 1894-1895;
F. P. Holland, 1895-1897; Bryan T. Barry, 1897-1898; John H.
Traylor, 1898-1900; Ben E. Cabell, 1900-1904; Bryan T. Barry,
1904-1906; Curtis P. Smith, 1906-1907; Stephen J. Hay, 1907-1911;
W. M. Holland, 1911-1915; Henry D. Lindsley, 1915-1917; Joe E.
Lawther, 1917-1919; Frank W. Rozencraft, 1919-1921; Sawnie R.
Alderedge, 1921-1923; Louis Blaylock, 1923-1927; R. E. Burt,
1927-1929; J. Waddy Tate, 1929-1931; T. L. Bradford, 1931-1932;
Charles E. Turner, 1931-1935; George Sergeant, 1935-1937; George
Sprague, 1937-1939; Woodall Rodgers, 1939-1947; J. R. Temple,
1947-1949; Wallace H. Savage, 1949-1951; J. B. Adoue, 1951-1953;
Robert L. Thornton, 1953-1961; Earle Cabell, 1961-1964; Erik
Jonsson, 1964-1971; Wes Wise, 1971-1976; Adelene Harrison, 1976;
Robert Folsom, 1977-1981; Jack Evans, 1981-1983; Starke Taylor,
1983-1987; Annette Strauss, 1987-1991; Steve Bartlett, 1991-1995;
Ron Kirk, 1995-2002; and Laura Miller, 2002-present; and
WHEREAS, Over the past 150 years, Dallas has emerged as one of
the foremost cities in Texas and one of the most dynamic
metropolitan areas in the nation, and its bright future holds
extraordinary opportunities for countless citizens and enormous
promise for the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas
Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby congratulate Mayor Laura
Miller and the people of Dallas on that city's 150th anniversary and
extend to them sincere best wishes as they continue to build on a
remarkable record of achievement.
Goolsby
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 14 was adopted by the House on April
27, 2006, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House