| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
|
WHEREAS, The historic town of Burkburnett celebrates the |
|
|
centennial of its founding in 2007; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Originally part of the vast Four Sixes Ranch of |
|
|
cattleman Samuel Burk Burnett, the land of the town then known as |
|
|
Nesterville was sold to Joseph A. Kemp and Frank Kell of the Red |
|
|
River Land Company; on June 6, 1907, they began to auction lots at |
|
|
the townsite and opened a post office named Burkburnett; its name |
|
|
was reportedly suggested by President Theodore Roosevelt, to honor |
|
|
his friend and hunting companion, Mr. Burk Burnett; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, That same year the railway came to the region, and by |
|
|
1915, 19 trains a day ran to Burkburnett; by 1912 the town had a |
|
|
bank, a hotel, and a newspaper; the economy was bolstered by two |
|
|
cotton gins; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Oil was found for the first time on July 1, 1912, at |
|
|
the Schmoker No. 1 well, but it was in 1918 when one of the greatest |
|
|
oil booms in American history began with the S. L. Fowler Wildcat |
|
|
No. 1 well; by the end of that year, the Burkburnett oil field was |
|
|
producing 7,500 barrels a day, and 20,000 people had poured into the |
|
|
town; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Men from around the world, including many veterans |
|
|
of World War I, came to strike it rich, sleeping on porches or in |
|
|
haylofts; 19 refineries opened locally; a story about the wild days |
|
|
of the boom, "A Lady Comes to Burkburnett" by James Edward Grant, |
|
|
became the inspiration for the 1940 film Boom Town, starring Clark |
|
|
Gable and Spencer Tracy; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Today Burkburnett thrives with farming and |
|
|
ranching, while local industries manufacture chemical products, |
|
|
plastics, and machinery; while celebrating its past with the |
|
|
restored Katy Depot and the Felty Outdoor Oil Museum, this |
|
|
progressive Texas town looks forward to the next 100 years; now, |
|
|
therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby congratulate the city of Burkburnett on its |
|
|
centennial and extend best wishes for its continued development and |
|
|
prosperity; and, be it further |
|
|
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
|
|
prepared for the citizens of Burkburnett as a token of the high |
|
|
regard of the Texas House of Representatives. |