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H.R. No. 323
R E S O L U T I O N
WHEREAS, Atascosa County, in South Texas, is celebrating its
150th anniversary in 2006; and
WHEREAS, The area of the present-day county was home to
Coahuiltecan Indians for several thousand years before Spanish
explorers first arrived in Texas in the 1500s; these Native
Americans disappeared as a distinct people after the arrival of
Europeans and were succeeded, in the vicinity of Atascosa County,
by Lipan Apaches and Comanches, who posed a threat to settlers until
after the Civil War; and
WHEREAS, Notwithstanding the danger of Indian raids,
families from northern Mexico began to establish ranches in the
area by the mid-1700s; one of the largest cattle spreads, El Rancho
de Atascosa, belonged to Mission San Jose; though roads in the
region were poor, an important route, the Lower Presidio Road,
passed through Atascosa County, connecting northern Mexico with San
Antonio; and
WHEREAS, In 1812, with Mexico in revolt against Spain, a
group styled the Republican Army of the North crossed into Texas
from Louisiana; after capturing several towns, it took San Antonio
in April 1813, whereupon its leaders issued a declaration of
independence; the following August, however, what remained of the
army was annihilated by royalist forces at the Battle of Medina, a
ferocious encounter memorialized by a Texas Historical Marker in
the northern part of the county; and
WHEREAS, Anglo settlers began to move into the area in the
late 1840s, and in 1856 the Texas Legislature created Atascosa
County; the prominent Texas statesman Jose Antonio Navarro, whose
relatives still live in the county, donated land from his large
holdings for the creation of a county seat, named Navatasco; a year
later, in 1858, the county seat was moved to Pleasanton, and in 1910
it was established at Jourdanton; and
WHEREAS, Throughout the history of Atascosa County, the
cattle industry has remained a pillar of the local economy; cattle
ranching surged to the fore, especially during the period of the
great trail drives in the years after the Civil War; and
WHEREAS, The first rail track was laid in the area by the
International-Great Northern Railroad Company, which built through
the far northwestern corner of the county in the early 1880s;
together with other railroads that entered the county in 1909 and
1912, the IGN spurred an increase in both the population and the
number of farms; and
WHEREAS, By 1900, cotton had become the dominant crop in
Atascosa County, but the drilling of artesian wells and the
introduction of irrigation in the first decades of the 20th century
made it possible also to raise fruit and vegetables; by 1960, the
county ranked as the third-largest producer of strawberries in
Texas, and at the beginning of the 21st century, the county's chief
crops were strawberries, peanuts, corn, milo, watermelons, and
wheat; and
WHEREAS, With the opening of several oil fields in the 1940s,
petroleum became a significant part of the county's economy as
well; today, the chief industrial activity centers on oil and gas
extraction and on the mining of lignite coal, which is used to power
a major electrical generating plant; and
WHEREAS, Many visitors are drawn to Atascosa County by the
opportunities it offers for quail and deer hunting and by such
popular attractions as the Atascosa County Fair, the Pleasanton
Cowboy Homecoming and Rodeo, and the Poteet Strawberry Festival,
reputed to be the largest agricultural festival in Texas; and
WHEREAS, The citizens of Atascosa County are heirs to a rich
heritage, and they are working to preserve the best of their past
even as they look forward to the challenges and opportunities that
lie before them; as they pause to commemorate this special
milestone, it is a pleasure to recognize their industry, their
achievements, and their public spirit; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas
Legislature, 3rd Called Session, hereby congratulate the residents
of Atascosa County on the occasion of their sesquicentennial and
extend to them sincere best wishes for a joyful and memorable
celebration.
Gonzalez Toureilles
______________________________
Speaker of the House
I certify that H.R. No. 323 was adopted by the House on May
10, 2006, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House