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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Proud citizens of Titus County are gathering at Lake |
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Bob Sandlin State Park on June 8, 2013, to celebrate the 175th |
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anniversary of the founding of Fort Sherman; and |
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WHEREAS, Sponsored by the Texas Parks and Wildlife |
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Department, the Titus County Historical Preservation Society, and |
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the Titus County Historical Commission, this commemoration will |
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feature historical reenactors in period costume who will provide |
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information about the fort's history and the lives of its |
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inhabitants; and |
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WHEREAS, Established by the Republic of Texas in 1838 near |
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the spot where the Cherokee Trace crossed Big Cypress Creek, Fort |
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Sherman was built as a log stockade by Captain William B. Stout and |
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a detachment of 42 Red River Mounted Rangers; the fort was named for |
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Colonel Sidney Sherman, a commander in the Texas Army at the Battle |
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of San Jacinto and the man who coined the battle cry "Remember the |
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Alamo!"; and |
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WHEREAS, Fort Sherman was the first community in Titus County |
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and home to the Bell, Blundell, Coots, Dial, Dragoo, Gibson, and |
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Harris families until 1841; it provided the local settlers with a |
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refuge from Indian attack, and it also served as a rest and resupply |
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depot for early units of the Texas Rangers; in the 1840s, it was a |
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polling place for several elections; and |
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WHEREAS, After the threat from Indians diminished, the fort |
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was abandoned, and when Major John Pollard Gaines stopped there |
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with his cavalry unit in 1846 on his way to join the |
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Mexican-American War, he noted in his diary that a peach orchard had |
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begun to grow up in its ruins; and |
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WHEREAS, The fort continued to appear on various maps as late |
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as 1873, and eventually local farmers salvaged the last remaining |
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timber from the fort for their own purposes; today, the site of this |
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historic outpost is located within Lake Bob Sandlin State Park, |
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which also includes the site of a cemetery from the same period as |
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the fort; and |
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WHEREAS, The efforts of the Texas Parks and Wildlife |
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Department, the Titus County Historical Preservation Society, and |
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the Titus County Historical Commission to remember the brave |
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Rangers who built Fort Sherman and the resilient and self-reliant |
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settlers who lived there will help keep the memory of this unique |
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frontier outpost alive for further generations of Texans; now, |
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therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas |
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Legislature hereby recognize June 8, 2013, as Fort Sherman Day and |
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commemorate the fort's rich history and continuing legacy; and, be |
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it further |
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RESOLVED, That official copies of this resolution be prepared |
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for the Titus County Historical Preservation Society and the Titus |
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County Historical Commission as an expression of high regard by the |
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Texas House of Representatives. |