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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The King Ranch is celebrating the 100th anniversary |
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of its Main House, the ancestral home of the King Ranch family, in |
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2015; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1854, Henrietta Chamberlain King came to the King |
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Ranch as the young bride of Captain Richard King, and she |
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established their home in a simple adobe structure on the banks of |
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Santa Gertrudis Creek; that dwelling was later replaced by a frame |
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cottage, and then by a two-story, Southern-style plantation home, |
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which burned to the ground in 1912; three years later, Mrs. King, |
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who had been widowed in 1885, her daughter Alice, and Alice's |
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husband, Robert Justus Kleberg Sr., finished building the splendid |
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Main House of the present day; and |
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WHEREAS, The new home, which also serves as the ranch |
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headquarters, was designed by Adams & Adams of San Antonio and the |
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interior was designed by the famed Tiffany Studios of New York; |
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while the 37,000-square-foot, 27-room structure is grand, |
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dominating the surrounding landscape, the building has also been |
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constructed to meet the needs of hardworking ranchers; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1961, the United States Department of the |
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Interior listed the King Ranch Main House and the King Ranch in the |
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National Register of Historic Places; the cultural significance of |
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the Main House was further acknowledged in 1980, when it received an |
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Official Texas Historical Marker from the Texas Historical |
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Commission; and |
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WHEREAS, Seven generations of the King Ranch family have |
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resided in the Main House, and it has welcomed a host of |
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distinguished guests, among them prominent citizens and heads of |
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state; today, it remains a gathering place for the family, as well |
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as a monument to the memories of Captain Richard King and Henrietta |
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King; and |
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WHEREAS, An iconic structure, the King Ranch Main House is an |
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enduring reminder of the rich ranching heritage of the Lone Star |
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State, and it is indeed fitting to acknowledge its role in Texas |
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history at this time; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby commemorate the centennial of the King Ranch Main House and |
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extend sincere best wishes for the future to the King Ranch family |
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and to all the employees of King Ranch, Inc.; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be |
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prepared for the King Ranch as an expression of high regard by the |
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Texas House of Representatives and Senate. |