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79S31023 MMS-D

By:  Gonzalez Toureilles                                          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.