79R3270 MMS-D

By:  Brown of Kaufman                                             H.R. No. 573



R E S O L U T I O N
	WHEREAS, Malakoff, in Henderson County, is celebrating a 
special milestone in its history with the commemoration of its 
sesquicentennial in 2005; and
	WHEREAS, The first recorded settlers in the vicinity of 
Malakoff were Jane Irvine and her family, who immigrated to the area 
before 1835 and built a gristmill on Caney Creek; this enterprise 
became the nucleus of a settlement, known initially as Caney Creek 
and later as Mitcham Chapel, after the Methodist church organized 
there by the Reverend Hezekiah Mitcham; and
	WHEREAS, When residents applied for a post office in the 
1850s, their initial choices for a name were rejected because they 
were already in use; as an alternative, post office officials 
suggested Malakoff, the name of a fortified position in Sevastopol, 
Russia, whose capture by the French in 1855 represented the last 
major fighting of the Crimean War; the community's inhabitants 
acquiesced, and by the end of 1855 their post office had been 
established; and
	WHEREAS, Malakoff's early prosperity was based largely on the 
production of cotton, which area farmers shipped down the Trinity 
River; by about 1860, the town boasted two cotton gins, a church, 
and a subscription school, as well as several stores, a saloon, and 
a blacksmith's shop; and
	WHEREAS, The Civil War decimated Malakoff's economy, but the 
situation began to improve after track for the St. Louis 
Southwestern Railway was laid through the county in 1880; most of 
Malakoff's businesses and residents soon relocated to a new town 
site along the railroad line, a mile and a half to the south of their 
old home; and
	WHEREAS, During the 20th century, Malakoff became closely 
identified with two industries:  brick production and coal mining; 
the site of brick works for at least 100 years, the town has also 
been the home of an innovator, Thomas Anthony Bartlett, who devised 
a means for making colored brick; in 1904 he exhibited his white 
brick at the St. Louis World's Fair and carried home a blue ribbon; 
and
	WHEREAS, Lignite was discovered near Malakoff in 1912, and 
during the 1920s and 1930s the town's coal mines constituted the 
largest industry in Henderson County; the mining operation employed 
more than 600 individuals and spurred the growth of Malakoff's 
population, which rose from 750 in 1920 to 2,168 in 1940; and
	WHEREAS, Latinos made up much of the workforce at the mines, 
and the presence of a large Hispanic community in Malakoff prompted 
the establishment there of an affiliate of Cruz Azul Mexicana, a 
charitable organization in San Antonio; it may also have accounted 
for the opening of a restaurant in Malakoff by the Cuellar family, 
who subsequently built the popular El Chico chain; and
	WHEREAS, Employment at the mines began to decline after the 
nearby electric generating plant switched to using natural gas, 
rather than coal, in 1942, and the mines closed in 1945; since then, 
a miners' reunion has been held in Malakoff every five years; and
	WHEREAS, Malakoff incorporated in 1948, and its population 
began to grow again with the creation in the 1960s of the Cedar 
Creek Reservoir; today the town is home to more than 2,200 
residents, the largest number in its history; and
	WHEREAS, Sponsored by the Malakoff Area Chamber of Commerce, 
the ceremonies honoring Malakoff's sesquicentennial are taking 
place during the town's annual Cornbread Festival on April 30, 
2005, and the careful preparations that have been afoot for months 
are sure to produce an event that will be hugely enjoyed by all who 
attend; and
	WHEREAS, Over the years, the citizens of this friendly, 
close-knit community have sought to preserve the best of their past 
while working to build an even brighter and more promising future 
for their children, and it is a pleasure to join in commemorating 
Malakoff's 150th anniversary; now, therefore, be it
	RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 79th Texas 
Legislature hereby congratulate the citizens of Malakoff on the 
occasion of that town's sesquicentennial and extend to its 
residents sincere best wishes for a grand and memorable 
celebration.