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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Residents of Medina County are gathering in Austin |
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for Medina County Day at the State Capitol on March 25, 2019; and |
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WHEREAS, Situated along the divide between the scenic Hill |
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Country and the rolling Rio Grande Plains, the area named for the |
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Medina River was inhabited by the ancestors of Native Americans for |
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thousands of years before the first Europeans arrived in the late |
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1600s; during the 1700s, the region was frequented by Apache and |
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Comanche raiding parties, and during the 1840s, it was settled by |
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German and French-speaking farmers from the Alsace region of |
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France, led by Henri Castro; Medina County was established in 1848, |
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with Castroville as the county seat; and |
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WHEREAS, By the 1880s, ranching predominated throughout |
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Medina County, and the county's human population was vastly |
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outnumbered by cattle and sheep; new communities sprang up |
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alongside the railroad, and Hondo was made the county seat in 1892; |
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during World War II, Hondo became the home of the Army Aviation |
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Navigation School, the largest such facility in the world at the |
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time; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, Medina County is home to more than 50,000 |
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people; many residents commute to nearby San Antonio, while |
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ranching and farming, which began to thrive after the completion of |
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the Medina Dam in 1913, support the local economy; visitors and |
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residents alike delight in the county's ample opportunities for |
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hunting, camping, and fishing; Hondo is home to the Hunt Hondo |
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event, a celebration of hunting, while Castroville celebrates |
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St. Louis Day every August in recognition of its Alsatian heritage; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, Celebrating their rich heritage as they work to |
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build a bright future, the people of Medina County may take |
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justifiable pride in the important role they play in the story 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 86th Texas |
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Legislature hereby recognize March 25, 2019, as Medina County Day |
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at the State Capitol and extend to the visiting delegation sincere |
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best wishes for a meaningful and memorable visit to Austin. |