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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Residents of Wise County are visiting Austin on |
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February 17, 2015, to celebrate Wise County Day at the State |
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Capitol; and |
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WHEREAS, Located in the northwestern part of the state, Wise |
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County has a varied terrain, much of which has proven to be fertile |
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farmland; the first known inhabitants of the area in historic times |
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were the Wichita, followed by groups of Caddo, Delaware, and |
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Kichai; Anglo settlers arrived in the 1850s, and on January 23, |
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1856, the county was carved out of Cooke County by legislative act |
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and named in honor of Henry A. Wise, a U.S. congressman from |
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Virginia who had supported the annexation of Texas; at the same time |
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as it created Wise County, the legislature decreed that its county |
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seat be established within five miles of the county's center, and |
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two years later that new community became known as Decatur, after |
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the naval hero Stephen Decatur; and |
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WHEREAS, The eastern fork of the Chisholm Trail passed near |
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Decatur during the latter half of the 19th century, and the town |
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prospered as a shipping point and market for local farmers; today, |
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it is a center for natural gas production, specialty carbon and |
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graphite manufacturing, and health care, as well as marketing and |
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processing for Wise County agribusiness; and |
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WHEREAS, Decatur is also home to some of the best |
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professional rodeo riders in the world; among the champion riders |
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who live and train in the community are bull riders Silvano Alves, |
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Mike Lee, Joao Ricardo Vieira, and Ross Johnson, as well as |
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all-around cowboy Trevor Brazile and wrangler K. C. Jones; the |
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famed Cooper family of rodeo riders live in Decatur as well, |
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including the family patriarch and Texas Rodeo Hall of Famer Roy |
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Cooper; and |
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WHEREAS, Visitors are drawn to Decatur by such historic |
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attractions as the Waggoner Mansion, the Wise County Heritage |
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Museum, the Wise County Veterans Park, and the pink granite Wise |
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County Courthouse, which was completed in 1896; Wise County is home |
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to a variety of recreational opportunities provided by Lake |
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Bridgeport, Eagle Mountain Lake, and the Caddo-Lyndon B. Johnson |
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National Grasslands; in addition, area residents celebrate their |
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heritage with the annual Butterfield Stage Days Festival in May, |
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the Wise County Old Settlers Reunion in July, and the Chisholm Trail |
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Days and Western Heritage Festival in September; and |
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WHEREAS, The citizens of Wise County may take justifiable |
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pride in their corner of Texas and know that it has contributed |
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immensely to the development and vitality of the Lone Star State; |
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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 February 17, 2015, as Wise County Day |
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at the State Capitol and extend best wishes to the visiting |
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delegation for an informative and enjoyable stay in Austin. |