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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Many proud residents of Austin County are visiting |
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the State Capitol on March 15, 2007, in celebration of their |
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county's outstanding contributions to the building of the Lone Star |
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State; and |
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WHEREAS, American settlement in the county dates to the early |
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1820s, when the area became part of Stephen F. Austin's first |
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colony; the first town to be established was San Felipe de Austin, |
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which served as the administrative seat of the colony and as a |
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social, cultural, and commercial center; and |
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WHEREAS, Austin County was created by the Constitution of |
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1836 and was formally organized by 1837; San Felipe became the |
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county seat and remained such until 1848, when the county |
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government was moved to Bellville; and |
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WHEREAS, Blessed with an abundance of water, grassland, and |
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forests, the county continued to draw a steady stream of settlers, |
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most of whom were engaged in agriculture; among the chief ethnic |
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groups were Anglo and African Americans, the latter of whom |
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composed more than 47 percent of the population in 1847 and 39 |
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percent on the eve of the Civil War; and |
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WHEREAS, Although the county remained overwhelmingly rural, |
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it did see the development of a number of communities during the |
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19th century, including Bellville, Wallis, and the railroad towns |
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of Sealy and Kenney; and |
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WHEREAS, Pushed by difficult social and political |
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circumstances at home and pulled by glowing accounts of life in |
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Texas, many German immigrants also settled in Austin County during |
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the 1800s; for recreational and civic purposes they organized |
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numerous singing, literary, dramatic, and political clubs, as well |
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as one of the oldest agrarian groups in the state, the Cat Spring |
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Agricultural Society; German communities in the county include |
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Industry, Cat Spring, Millheim, New Ulm, Shelby, Welcome, |
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Nelsonville, and Bleiblerville; and |
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WHEREAS, Austin County has also proved attractive to |
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immigrants from Czechoslovakia, who began settling there in sizable |
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numbers after the Civil War and who continued to arrive until after |
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the turn of the 20th century; like the Germans, they organized much |
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of their social life around various societies, and the S.P.J.S.T. |
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lodges still play a vital role in the county's Czech communities; |
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Czechs frequently settled in German towns and were largely |
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responsible for the establishment of Frydek; and |
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WHEREAS, Following the Civil War, African Americans in Austin |
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County set about creating their own social and religious |
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institutions; in addition to the fundamental role they played in |
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developing the county's agricultural base, they also worked by the |
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hundreds on building the railroad lines that entered the area in the |
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latter part of the 1800s; and |
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WHEREAS, In the 20th century, the cultural mosaic of the |
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county was further enriched by the arrival of immigrants from |
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Mexico, who in the 1900s were the largest foreign-born group to |
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settle there; by 2000, Latinos constituted 16 percent of the |
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county's 24,600 residents; and |
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WHEREAS, Among the prominent Texans who have resided in |
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Austin County have been Gail Borden, Jr., a surveyor and newspaper |
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publisher who later invented a successful process for condensing |
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milk; another early citizen, Robert Justus Kleberg, fought in the |
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Battle of San Jacinto, held several prestigious public offices, and |
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in 1885 saw his youngest son become head of the King Ranch; and |
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WHEREAS, Together with exploring the county's rich heritage, |
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preserved today at the Stephen F. Austin State Historic Site and in |
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rural communities throughout the area, visitors can while away |
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their hours hunting and fishing or taking in the lively scenes at |
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the Heritage Gathering in Bellville and Polka Fest in Sealy; and |
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WHEREAS, The citizens of Austin County can indeed take pride |
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in what their forebears and they have accomplished over the course |
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of more than 180 years, and it is a pleasure to join them in paying |
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tribute to this fine Texas county; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas |
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Legislature hereby welcome the Austin County residents visiting on |
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this day and recognize March 15, 2007, as Austin County Day at the |
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State Capitol. |
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Kolkhorst |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 439 was adopted by the House on March |
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1, 2007, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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