| |
| |
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
| |
|
|
WHEREAS, Proud residents of Slaton are celebrating the 100th |
|
|
anniversary of their town's founding with a full program of events |
|
|
scheduled for July 1 through July 4, 2011; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Named for O. L. Slaton, a local rancher and banker, |
|
|
Slaton originated as a railroad town; needing a site that could |
|
|
serve as the division point for its line in northwest Texas, the |
|
|
Santa Fe Railway Company purchased land for that purpose in April |
|
|
1911; the new town was platted with streets radiating outward from |
|
|
the central residential and business district, a plan similar to |
|
|
that of Washington, D.C.; Slaton was officially established on June |
|
|
15, 1911, a day marked by the arrival of the first of four daily |
|
|
passenger trains and by the publication of the first issue of the |
|
|
Slaton Journal; in less than a year, the rapidly growing town |
|
|
boasted a post office, a newspaper, and an independent school |
|
|
district; Slaton became the center of the largest division in the |
|
|
Santa Fe system and serviced the division's trains with its |
|
|
roundhouse and machine shops; the town's economy was based chiefly |
|
|
on the railroad and on agriculture, particularly cotton; Slaton is |
|
|
reported, in fact, to have ginned the first bale of cotton on the |
|
|
South Plains; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Today an attractive, friendly community of some |
|
|
6,000 residents, Slaton continues to serve as an agricultural |
|
|
center; in 1955, the Santa Fe Railway Company gave Engine 1809 to |
|
|
the city of Slaton in tribute to the town's railroad heritage and |
|
|
the countless runs the engine made hauling cotton from area farms to |
|
|
ports on the Gulf Coast; other points of interest include the Slaton |
|
|
Museum, the Harvey House, a Recorded Texas Historic Landmark, and |
|
|
the Texas Air Museum, which maintains several vintage aircraft in |
|
|
addition to its exhibits and which hosts periodic air shows; for a |
|
|
number of years the annual Sausagefest, sponsored by St. Joseph |
|
|
Church and School, has drawn an appreciative throng, and the nearby |
|
|
Buffalo Springs Lake and Lake Ransom Canyon, both located in Yellow |
|
|
House Canyon, offer a variety of recreational opportunities for |
|
|
outdoor enthusiasts; and |
|
|
WHEREAS, Over the years, the citizens of Slaton have sought |
|
|
to preserve the best of their past while working to build an even |
|
|
brighter and more promising future, and they are indeed deserving |
|
|
of recognition on this special occasion; now, therefore, be it |
|
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 82nd Texas |
|
|
Legislature hereby commemorate the centennial of Slaton and extend |
|
|
to its residents sincere best wishes for a grand and memorable |
|
|
celebration. |
| |
|
|
Perry |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Speaker of the House |
| |
|
|
I certify that H.R. No. 2095 was adopted by the House on May |
|
|
26, 2011, by a non-record vote. |
|
|
|
|
|
______________________________ |
|
|
Chief Clerk of the House |
| |