|
|
|
R E S O L U T I O N
|
|
WHEREAS, Residents of San Patricio County are gathering in |
|
Austin on March 6, 2019, to celebrate San Patricio County Day at the |
|
State Capitol; and |
|
WHEREAS, Situated on the broad coastal plain along the Gulf |
|
of Mexico, this region was originally inhabited by the Karankawa |
|
Indians; in 1829, 200 Irish families from New York formed a colony |
|
under a contract with the government of Mexico and founded the town |
|
of San Patricio de Hibernia, after Saint Patrick, the patron saint |
|
of Ireland; the town was the site of a battle during the Texas |
|
Revolution in 1836, and later that same year, San Patricio County |
|
was created by the new Republic of Texas; and |
|
WHEREAS, By 1860, San Patricio County was occupied by |
|
ranchers and farmers, and during the Civil War, a Confederate fort |
|
was built at Aransas Pass to deal with smugglers, rustlers, and |
|
Federal raiders; the county's economy was boosted in 1885 when the |
|
San Antonio and Aransas Pass Railway was extended to Aransas |
|
Harbor; the town of Sinton, named after an Ohio banker who had |
|
invested in the area's development, was designated as the county |
|
seat in 1893; and |
|
WHEREAS, Oil and gas were discovered in the county in the |
|
early 20th century, and the petroleum industry and agriculture |
|
continue to be the foundation of the economy; cotton, sorghum, and |
|
cattle are all major products, along with shrimp from the |
|
commercial fisheries along the coast; the deepwater port at Aransas |
|
Pass is easily accessible to northern markets by rail, highway, and |
|
the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway; and |
|
WHEREAS, Today, the people of San Patricio County enjoy a |
|
relaxed rural lifestyle while taking advantage of their proximity |
|
to the urban amenities of Corpus Christi; hunters, birders, |
|
kayakers, snorkelers, and devotees of sport fishing travel to the |
|
county for its many opportunities for recreation; the county is |
|
also home to the Welder Wildlife Refuge, one of the largest |
|
privately endowed refuges in the world; and |
|
WHEREAS, Celebrating their colorful past even as they work to |
|
build a bright future, those Texans who call San Patricio County |
|
home may indeed take great pride in the important role their unique |
|
region plays in the story of the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be |
|
it |
|
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 86th Texas |
|
Legislature hereby recognize March 6, 2019, as San Patricio County |
|
Day at the State Capitol and extend to the visiting delegation |
|
sincere best wishes for a meaningful and memorable stay in Austin. |