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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Proud residents of Jeff Davis County are gathering |
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in Austin to celebrate Jeff Davis County Day at the State Capitol; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, This austerely beautiful region of canyons and |
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windswept plateaus is home to the Davis Mountains, which were first |
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inhabited by prehistoric peoples more than a thousand years ago; |
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the region was later home to the Mescalero Apaches, and the first |
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Spanish explorer, Antonio de Espejo, visited Limpia Canyon in 1583; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, In 1849, the U.S. Army opened a wagon road from San |
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Antonio to El Paso through the mountains, and in 1854, the army |
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established a fort on the former site of an Indian village, naming |
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it after Jefferson Davis, the secretary of war, and later the |
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president of the Confederacy; Fort Davis changed hands during the |
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Civil War, and the U.S. Army reoccupied it in 1867; ranchers moved |
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into the area in the 1880s, and Jeff Davis County was organized in |
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1887 with Fort Davis as the county seat; the military post was |
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abandoned in 1891; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, ranching and tourism continue to be the |
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mainstays of the county's economy; the county seat is home to the |
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Fort Davis National Historic Site, which preserves the history and |
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heritage of the frontier cavalry fort; the nearby Chihuahuan Desert |
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Nature Center features 507 acres of rolling grassland and |
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oak-covered hills, as well as a desert botanical garden and a |
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greenhouse; visitors are also drawn by the fine opportunities for |
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camping, birding, hiking, and horseback riding in Davis Mountains |
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State Park, and by the 74-mile scenic highway that winds through the |
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mountains; and |
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WHEREAS, The county is home to the McDonald Observatory of |
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The University of Texas at Austin and its Hobby-Eberly telescope, |
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one of the largest optical telescopes in the world; the |
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observatory's excellent visitors center offers tours and student |
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activities, as well as star parties several nights each week, where |
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the public can marvel at some of the darkest night skies in the |
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continental United States; and |
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WHEREAS, Each August, the Bloys Cowboy Camp revival meeting |
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is held in Skillman's Grove, and also in August, the Fort Davis |
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Chamber of Commerce hosts an annual hummingbird festival in the |
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Davis Mountains; in Fort Davis itself, citizens reenact an old |
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Western bank robbery every Fourth of July; and |
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WHEREAS, Blessed with the opportunity to live in a striking |
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landscape with a rich history, the resilient and independent-minded |
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citizens of Jeff Davis County may indeed take great pride in the |
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unique role their county plays in both the past and the future of |
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the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 84th Texas |
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Legislature hereby recognize Jeff Davis County Day at the State |
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Capitol and extend to the visiting delegation sincere best wishes |
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for a memorable and meaningful visit to Austin. |