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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The Lone Star State is renowned for the beauty and |
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diversity of its many public gardens and parks, and for the |
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dedication of Texans in preserving and sustaining these oases of |
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greenery; and |
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WHEREAS, While outstanding gardens can be found in many |
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communities throughout the state, the city of Nacogdoches is |
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deserving of particular recognition for the number and variety of |
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its green and flowering public spaces; and |
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WHEREAS, Nacogdoches is located on the site of a village once |
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occupied by the Nacogdoche Indians, a group of the Caddo people, |
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whose culture was based on farming and gardening; a Spanish mission |
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was established there in 1716 and continued in existence for the |
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better part of six and a half decades; the town has been a civil |
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settlement since 1779, and its situation at the crossroads of two |
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Spanish colonial highways, El Camino Real and El Calle del Norte, |
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made it an early center of multicultural exchange; as early as 1853, |
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the city's gardens were noted in the diary of a famous visitor, |
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Frederick Law Olmsted, the landscape architect who designed New |
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York's Central Park; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, Nacogdoches helps to preserve the state's |
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horticultural heritage through re-creations of traditional gardens |
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at the Durst-Taylor Historic House and Gardens, the Sterne-Hoya |
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House Museum and Library, Millard's Crossing Historic Village, the |
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Old University Building, and the Spanish Religious Plaza; and |
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WHEREAS, The city's splendid green spaces also include |
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Eugenia Sterne Park, Margil Park, along the Lanana Creek Trail, the |
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Zion Hill Baptist Church and Oak Grove Cemeteries, and the Pocket |
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Park and the Plaza Principal in the historic downtown; the Liberty |
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Memorial Garden, along Banita Creek, commemorates with dignity and |
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grace the lives lost during the tragic events of 9/11; and |
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WHEREAS, Nacogdoches is home to Stephen F. Austin State |
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University, which is landscaped with overstory and ornamental trees |
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to maintain the Pineywoods ecosystem and natural beauty of the |
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campus; the university's 128 acres of gardens include the SFA Mast |
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Arboretum, the Pineywoods Native Plant Center, the Gayla Mize |
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Garden, the Jim and Beth Kingham Children's Garden, the Sustainable |
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Community Education Garden, and the Crape Myrtle Garden, which |
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together feature the largest botanical collection in Texas of bald |
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cypress, boxwood, camellias, gardenias, hollies, hydrangeas, |
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magnolias, and maples; each year, the SFA Gardens hosts programs |
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that educate 17,000 people in sustainable gardening and the |
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preservation of native plants, while the Nacogdoches Independent |
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School District supports initiatives that encourage its students to |
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grow and study gardens on their school grounds; and |
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WHEREAS, Home of the annual 22-mile Nacogdoches Azalea Trail |
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each March, the community was named the first Azalea City of America |
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by the Azalea Society of America in 2004 and was recertified in |
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2012; the Ruby M. Mize Azalea Garden on the SFA campus is the |
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largest such garden in the state, with more than 520 species and |
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cultivars on display; the Master Gardeners Club Demonstration |
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Garden, on the former site of Aqua Vitae Park, was developed by the |
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Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service on behalf of the city and |
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Nacogdoches County; and |
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WHEREAS, The thoughtful cultivation of the splendor of nature |
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is one of the most sublime expressions of the human spirit, and the |
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skill and devotion with which the city of Nacogdoches has for many |
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years showcased its lovely trees and flowering plants is indeed |
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deserving of special recognition; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 83rd Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby designate Nacogdoches as the official Garden Capital of |
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Texas. |