79R4436 MMS-D

By:  Kolkhorst                                                    H.R. No. 272



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, Many proud residents of Austin County are visiting 
the State Capitol on February 24, 2005, in celebration of their 
county's outstanding contributions to the building of the Lone Star 
State; and
	WHEREAS, American settlement in the county dates to the early 
1820s, when the area became part of Stephen F. Austin's first 
colony; the first town to be established was San Felipe de Austin, 
which served as the administrative seat of the colony and as a 
social, cultural, and commercial center; and
	WHEREAS, Austin County was created by the Constitution of 
1836 and was formally organized by 1837; San Felipe became the 
county seat and remained such until 1848, when the county 
government was moved to Bellville; and
	WHEREAS, Blessed with an abundance of water, grassland, and 
forests, the county continued to draw a steady stream of settlers, 
most of whom were engaged in agriculture; among the chief ethnic 
groups were Anglo and African Americans, the latter of whom 
composed more than 47 percent of the population in 1847 and 39 
percent on the eve of the Civil War; and
	WHEREAS, Although the county remained overwhelmingly rural, 
it did see the development of a number of communities during the 
19th century; those established by Anglo Americans included 
Bellville, Wallis, and the railroad towns of Sealy and Kenney; and
	WHEREAS, Pushed by difficult social and political 
circumstances at home and pulled by glowing accounts of life in 
Texas, many German immigrants also settled in Austin County during 
the 1800s; for recreational and civic purposes they organized 
numerous singing, literary, dramatic, and political clubs, as well 
as one of the oldest agrarian groups in the state, the Cat Spring 
Agricultural Society; German communities in the county include 
Industry, Cat Spring, Millheim, New Ulm, Shelby, Welcome, 
Nelsonville, and Bleiblerville; and
	WHEREAS, Austin County has also proved attractive to 
immigrants from Czechoslovakia, who began settling there in sizable 
numbers after the Civil War and who continued to arrive until after 
the turn of the 20th century; like the Germans, they organized much 
of their social life around various societies, and the S.P.J.S.T. 
lodges still play a vital role in the county's Czech communities; 
Czechs frequently settled in German towns and were largely 
responsible for the establishment of Frydek; and
	WHEREAS, Following the Civil War, African Americans in Austin 
County set about creating their own social and religious 
institutions; in addition to the fundamental role they played in 
developing the county's agricultural base, they also worked by the 
hundreds on building the railroad lines that entered the area in the 
latter part of the 1800s; and
	WHEREAS, In the 20th century, the cultural mosaic of the 
county was further enriched by the arrival of immigrants from 
Mexico, who in the 1900s were the largest foreign-born group to 
settle there; by 2000, Latinos constituted 16 percent of the 
county's 24,600 residents; and
	WHEREAS, Among the prominent Texans who have resided in 
Austin County have been Gail Borden, Jr., a surveyor and newspaper 
publisher who later invented a successful process for condensing 
milk; another early citizen, Robert Justus Kleberg, fought in the 
Battle of San Jacinto, held several prestigious public offices, and 
in 1885 saw his youngest son become head of the King Ranch; and
	WHEREAS, Together with exploring the county's rich heritage, 
preserved today at the Stephen F. Austin State Historic Site and in 
rural communities throughout the area, visitors can while away 
their hours hunting and fishing or taking in the lively scenes at 
the Country Livin' Festival in Bellville and Polka Fest in Sealy; 
and
	WHEREAS, The citizens of Austin County can indeed take pride 
in what their forebears and they have accomplished over the course 
of more than 180 years, and it is a pleasure to join them in paying 
tribute to this fine Texas county; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas 
Legislature hereby welcome the Austin County residents visiting on 
this day and recognize February 24, 2005, as Austin County Day at 
the State Capitol.