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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Proud residents of Bastrop are celebrating the 175th |
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anniversary of their city on June 9, 2007; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1804, when the Tonkawa and the Comanche still |
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lived and hunted in the area, the Spanish governor of the region, |
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Manuel Antonio Cordero y Bustamante, established a fort where the |
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road between San Antonio and Nacogdoches crossed the Colorado |
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River; the fort was called Puesta del Colorado; and |
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WHEREAS, At about the same time, a fugitive embezzler from |
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the Netherlands named Philip Hendrik Nering Bogel who was passing |
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himself off as "the Baron of Bastrop" settled in San Antonio; in |
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1823, the "Baron" obtained permission to set up a German colony on |
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the site of the old fort; and |
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WHEREAS, The colony failed, but four years later Stephen F. |
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Austin located a settlement of 100 families on the site; on June 8, |
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1832, the town was officially platted and named Bastrop; and |
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WHEREAS, Renamed two years later as Mina after a Mexican |
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hero, the town had grown to 400 residents and was the business and |
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political center for the region by the time it was incorporated and |
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renamed Bastrop on December 18, 1837; and |
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WHEREAS, With the Lost Pine Forest nearby, Bastrop became a |
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center for the lumber industry; when Austin became capital of the |
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Texas Republic in 1839, Bastrop supplied the timber for the city; |
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over the years, Bastrop has continued to depend on timber as well as |
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upon petroleum, cotton, pecans, and coal as mainstays of its |
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economy; and |
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WHEREAS, As one of the oldest and most historic towns in the |
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Lone Star State, Bastrop has 131 houses and buildings, many of them |
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recently restored, listed on the National Historic Register; among |
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the highlights are the Victorian-style Bastrop Opera House, which |
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was built in 1889, the Bastrop County Historical Society Museum, |
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housed in the 1850 Cornelson-Fehr house, and Bastrop's picturesque |
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Main Street, which features antique shops, specialty stores, and |
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restaurants in century-old buildings; the Iron Bridge over the |
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Colorado River was built in 1890 and has been converted to a park |
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with picnic tables, benches, and walkways; and |
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WHEREAS, Celebrating their rich and colorful past as they |
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look forward to a bright future, the people of Bastrop may take |
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special pride in their city's central place in the history and |
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culture of Texas; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 80th Texas |
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Legislature hereby congratulate the city of Bastrop on the 175th |
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anniversary of its founding and extend to its citizens best wishes |
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for a fine birthday party and for their continued prosperity. |
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Cook of Colorado |
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______________________________ |
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Speaker of the House |
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I certify that H.R. No. 1757 was adopted by the House on May |
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18, 2007, by a non-record vote. |
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______________________________ |
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Chief Clerk of the House |
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