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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Proud residents of Forestburg are celebrating the |
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150th anniversary of the founding of their community on the weekend |
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of June 8-10, 2007; and |
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WHEREAS, Situated among the rolling prairie and forestlands |
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of North Central Texas, the region around Forestburg was first |
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settled in the 1850s by pioneers arriving on sleds, in ox carts, in |
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wagons, and on horseback; in 1857, a year before Montague County was |
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organized, Forestburg was founded when Dave Hagler opened a general |
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store in a log building that also served as the settlement's meeting |
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place and church; a school was established nearby the following |
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year; and |
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WHEREAS, Originally called Horn Hill, the community was |
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renamed Forest Hill because of its lovely stand of live oaks; when |
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the town's application for a post office was turned down because |
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there was already another Forest Hill in Texas, the name was changed |
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again to Forestburg, and the post office opened in 1876; and |
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WHEREAS, During the first half of the 20th century, |
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Forestburg grew to encompass several churches, a grocery store, a |
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clothing store, a drug store, and blacksmith shops; the Forestburg |
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State Bank operated from 1917 until 1931, until it was robbed, and |
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the newspaper The Forestburger was published from 1938 until 1952; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Built originally in the 1880s, the town's historic |
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rock store building survived the fire of 1927 that nearly destroyed |
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the town; over the years it has been a grocery store, and it serves |
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today as a restaurant and grocery store; and |
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WHEREAS, Forestburg's milestones throughout the last century |
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include the new rodeo arena constructed in 1957 and the founding of |
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the Forestburg Volunteer Fire Department after the fire of 1959; in |
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1981 a group of local women formed the Young Homemakers club to |
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raise money for a new community center, and they instituted the |
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annual Watermelon Festival and Rodeo that continues to the present; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Today about 100 people live within the city limits, |
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and Forestburg boasts three churches, a winery, and a school with |
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about 200 students from pre-kindergarten through the 12th grade; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Forestburg has survived through 150 years of triumph |
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and tragedy; today its residents may be proud of its friendliness |
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and sense of community, and its standing as the oldest community in |
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Montague 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 congratulate the town of Forestburg on its |
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sesquicentennial and extend to its residents best wishes for an |
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enjoyable and rewarding celebration; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the town of Forestburg as an expression of high regard |
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by the Texas House of Representatives. |