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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, Situated just to the east of the Llano Estacado, the |
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city of Spur epitomizes, in the sweep of its landscape and history |
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and in the proud, forward-looking attitude of its citizens, the |
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expansive character of the American West; and |
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WHEREAS, In the 18th century, bands of Comanche Indians |
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migrated southward into Texas, pushing aside the Apaches and |
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Tonkawas; one of those bands, the Wanderers, established itself in |
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the area surrounding present-day Spur; less than two centuries |
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later, however, Comanche dominion over the Texas plains came to an |
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end; during the fateful decade of the 1870s, white hunters |
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exterminated the southern buffalo herd, which supplied most of the |
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tribe's essential needs, and a series of engagements with federal |
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troops resulted in the Comanches' final subjugation; and |
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WHEREAS, Within a few years, the plains of West Texas began to |
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fill with ranches; Dickens County, where the city of Spur is |
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located, became home to three of the most famous: the Matador, the |
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Pitchfork, and the town's namesake, the Spur; and |
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WHEREAS, The Spur Ranch had its genesis in 1878 with 1,900 |
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head of cattle that had been trailed northward from Refugio County; |
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soon, however, small ranchers on the plains, including the owners |
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of the Spur, were forced to sell their herds to larger concerns, |
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which were buying, leasing, and fencing vast amounts of land that |
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had formerly been open range; in this process of consolidation, the |
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Spur name was taken over by a sprawling ranch that encompassed some |
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569,000 acres; and |
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WHEREAS, From 1885 to 1907, the Spur Ranch was owned by a |
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group of British financiers who operated as the Espuela Land and |
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Cattle Company; after failing to realize much success, they sold |
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the ranch in the early 20th century to a group known as the Spur |
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Syndicate, which disposed of the cattle and, over the next three |
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decades, sold off the land to settlers; and |
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WHEREAS, To manage the breakup of the ranch and promote the |
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commercial development of the area, the syndicate hired Charles |
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Adam Jones as ranch manager; in less than a decade, Mr. Jones |
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platted several town sites, helped to establish schools and |
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churches, and succeeded in attracting mercantile businesses to the |
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region; he founded Spur in 1909, and he gave that community a |
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substantial boost by persuading the leadership of a new railroad, |
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the Stamford and Northwestern, to build their line through the |
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town; and |
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WHEREAS, During its first two years of existence, Spur |
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acquired a one-room schoolhouse, a bank, organized by Mr. Jones, |
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and a newspaper, the Texas Spur; the town incorporated in 1911, and |
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over the next 20 years it experienced steady growth; and |
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WHEREAS, The Texas Legislature established a Texas A&M |
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Agricultural Experiment Station in Spur in 1909, and the station |
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remained active until 1986, engaging in significant research on a |
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number of fronts and drawing visitors from both the U.S. and abroad; |
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under the leadership of Ray E. Dickson, who served as station |
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superintendent from 1914 to 1950 and who became known as "the man |
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who made water walk," the unit pioneered the "syrup pan" terracing |
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system and other important advances in the area of soil and water |
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conservation; Mr. Dickson also played an instrumental role in |
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drafting the amendment that created the federal Soil Conservation |
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Service, now the Natural Resources Conservation Service; and |
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WHEREAS, Later station superintendents included C. E. |
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Fisher, who oversaw an extensive program of brush control studies; |
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that research resulted in the development of chemical, mechanical, |
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and biological methods of brush control that were adopted across |
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the state; Superintendent Paul T. Marion guided beef cattle |
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industry studies, which explored nutrition, crossbreeding, and |
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grazing management practices and which led to the development of |
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successful artificial insemination and containment techniques; and |
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WHEREAS, The town's positive growth and development was |
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further enhanced by the leadership of Clifford Bartlett Jones, who |
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succeeded his father as manager of the Spur Ranch and also served as |
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mayor of Spur, president of the Spur Chamber of Commerce, and |
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president/director of banks in Spur, Lubbock, and Dallas; at one |
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time a regional advisor for the Public Works Administration, |
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Clifford B. Jones was inaugurated in 1939 as president of Texas |
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Technological College; and |
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WHEREAS, Another prominent Texan associated with the |
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community is Spur native Red McCombs, the distinguished businessman |
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and philanthropist and the former owner of the San Antonio Spurs, |
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Denver Nuggets, and Minnesota Vikings; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, Spur is the largest town in Dickens County, |
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and it continues to serve as a shipping center for cotton, wheat, |
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and cattle; its civic-minded residents, recognizing the |
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immeasurable importance of their historic resources, have secured |
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Main Street City status in order to promote, simultaneously, |
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historic preservation and economic development; and |
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WHEREAS, Reflecting the community's commitment to excellence |
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and to building for the future, the Spur Independent School |
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District has achieved "exemplary" status, the highest rating |
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accorded by the Texas Education Agency; the school plays a central |
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role in the life of the town, and the annual Spur Homecoming ranks |
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as one of the year's highlights, bringing many former residents |
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back for class reunions and a full schedule of homecoming and other |
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community events; another much-anticipated occasion is the Cowboy |
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Christmas Ball, sponsored by the Spur Area Chamber of Commerce; and |
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WHEREAS, Heirs to a rich legacy, the citizens of Spur are |
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meeting the challenges and opportunities of today with the same |
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energetic, can-do resourcefulness that their forebears brought to a |
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new frontier, and it is fitting that they and their community be |
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recognized as bearers of a celebrated and vital tradition; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 80th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby formally designate the city of Spur, Texas, as the Spirit of |
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the West. |