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SENATE RESOLUTION NO. 115
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WHEREAS, Proud residents of Jeff Davis County are |
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gathering in Austin to celebrate Jeff Davis County Day at the |
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State Capitol; 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 |
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first inhabited by prehistoric peoples more than a thousand years |
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ago; the region was later home to the Mescalero Apaches, and the |
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first Spanish explorer, Antonio de Espejo, visited Limpia Canyon |
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in 1583; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1849, the United States Army opened a wagon |
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road from San Antonio to El Paso through the mountains, and in |
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1854, the army established a fort on the former site of an Indian |
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village, naming it after Jefferson Davis, the secretary of war, |
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and later the president of the Confederacy; Fort Davis changed |
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hands during the Civil War, and the United States Army reoccupied |
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it in 1867; ranchers moved into the area in the 1880s, and Jeff |
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Davis County was organized in 1887 with Fort Davis as the county |
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seat; the military post was 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 |
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and heritage of the frontier cavalry fort; the nearby Chihuahuan |
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Desert 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 |
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Mountains State Park, and by the 74-mile scenic highway that |
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winds through the 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 |
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student activities, as well as star parties several nights each |
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week, where the public can marvel at some of the darkest night |
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skies in the continental United States; and |
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WHEREAS, Each August, the Bloys Cowboy Camp revival |
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meeting is held in Skillman's Grove, and also in August, the Fort |
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Davis Chamber of Commerce hosts an annual hummingbird festival in |
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the Davis Mountains; in Fort Davis itself, citizens reenact an |
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old Western bank robbery every Fourth of July; and |
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WHEREAS, Blessed with the opportunity to live in a |
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striking landscape with a rich history, the resilient and |
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independent-minded citizens of Jeff Davis County may indeed |
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take great pride in the unique role their county plays in both |
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the past and the future of the Lone Star State; now, therefore, |
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be it |
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RESOLVED, That the Senate of the State of Texas, 86th |
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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. |
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Rodríguez |
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________________________________ |
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President of the Senate |
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I hereby certify that the |
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above Resolution was adopted by |
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the Senate on February 5, 2019. |
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________________________________ |
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Secretary of the Senate |
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________________________________ |
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Member, Texas Senate |