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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Proud residents of La Salle County are gathering in |
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Austin on April 18, 2023, to celebrate La Salle County Day at the |
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State Capitol; and |
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WHEREAS, Situated in South Texas and traversed by the Nueces |
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and Frio Rivers, the area that is now La Salle County has been |
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inhabited for approximately 11,000 years; in the 1850s, the U.S. |
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Army briefly operated the Fort Ewell outpost on the road from San |
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Antonio to Laredo, and by 1871, some 60 people lived in the nearby |
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town of Guajoco; a number of ranchers moved into the region, and in |
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1880, the county was formally organized, with Stuart's Rancho near |
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Guajoco designated as its first seat of government; soon after, the |
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International-Great Northern Railroad extended its line into the |
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county, with landowner Joseph Cotulla donating land to encourage |
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the railroad to pass through a townsite he was developing; over the |
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years, Cotulla became the most populous town in the county, and the |
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county seat was eventually moved there; and |
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WHEREAS, During the first decades of the 20th century, the |
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introduction of commercial agriculture ushered in a new period of |
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development, and national advertising campaigns attracted numerous |
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settlers, more than doubling the county's population to over 4,700 |
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by 1910; in addition to cattle ranching, lucrative crops such as |
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onions, peaches, pears, plums, figs, and cotton became staples of |
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the local economy; in 1940, the first oil well was drilled, and |
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production continued to rise in the succeeding decades, with nearly |
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two million barrels of crude oil produced in 1990; and |
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WHEREAS, Today, La Salle County has a population of more than |
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6,500; the majority of the region's residents are concentrated in |
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the cities of Encinal and Cotulla, which is home to the county's |
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courthouse and airport; since 2008, shale oil production has |
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further bolstered economic conditions; and |
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WHEREAS, Even as they celebrate their unique heritage, the |
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citizens of La Salle County are looking ahead to the opportunities |
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of the future, and they may reflect with pride on their |
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contributions to the story of the Lone Star State; now, therefore, |
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be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas |
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Legislature hereby recognize April 18, 2023, as La Salle County Day |
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at the State Capitol and extend a warm welcome to the visiting |
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delegation. |