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CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
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WHEREAS, The vaquero is one of the iconic figures of the Lone |
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Star State, and today that heritage remains especially strong in |
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Jim Hogg County, where vaqueros have played a fundamental role in |
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that region's economy and culture since the arrival of the earliest |
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settlers; and |
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WHEREAS, Renowned for their horsemanship and stock-handling |
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abilities, vaqueros were crucial to the advance of Spanish ranching |
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into South Texas; their skills and fortitude contributed to the |
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development of large, open-range cattle ranches in the area south |
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of the Nueces River during the Spanish colonial era; these ranches |
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left an imprint on the landscape that is still visible today in |
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fortified stone blockhouses and ranch outbuildings, in historic |
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chapels and cemeteries, and in hand-dug wells and reservoirs that |
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were used to water enormous herds of livestock; and |
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WHEREAS, With the expansion of the Texas cattle industry in |
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the 1800s, the vaquero's traditions came to shape ranching |
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practices far beyond the Nueces; much of the equipment used by the |
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vaqueros, including the bandana, hat, chaps, lasso, spurs, and |
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saddle, were adopted by all Texas cowboys, as were the vaquero |
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techniques employed in mounted herding and roping; moreover, the |
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system of range and cattle management that evolved in Texas |
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subsequently spread across the High Plains and throughout the |
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American West; and |
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WHEREAS, Endowed with soils better suited to livestock |
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production than farming, the area of present-day Jim Hogg County |
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has beckoned ranchers for the past two centuries; the first known |
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grant within the borders of today's county was made to Xavier Vela |
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in 1805 and encompassed nearly 18,000 acres; between 1805 and 1836, |
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approximately 25 grants were conferred within the area; and |
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WHEREAS, Among the first ranches were Las Noriacitas, Las |
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Animas, San Antonio Viejo, Las Enramadas, Las Viboritas, El |
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Baluarte, and San Javier; another of the early operations, Randado, |
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was originally founded in 1830 by Hipolito Garcia and ultimately |
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became the most famous holding in the county; encompassing more |
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than 100,000 acres, it was renowned for its vast herd of Spanish |
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ponies, which by the 1870s numbered some 3,000 head, and for the |
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fine leather and horsehair accoutrements fashioned by its vaqueros; |
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the name of the ranch, in fact, refers to the production there of an |
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elaborate style of lasso, the randa; Robert E. Lee, who spent time |
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in Texas before the Civil War, wrote about his visit to Randado, and |
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the ranch figures in literary works by John Houghton Allen, Tom Lea, |
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and J. Frank Dobie; and |
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WHEREAS, Ranching remains one of the chief pillars of the |
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economy in Jim Hogg County, and most communities in the area have |
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ranching roots or associations; Agua Nueva, Cuevitas, Guerra, and |
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Randado all originated as ranching settlements; Hebbronville, the |
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county seat, is located on land that once formed part of Las |
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Noriacitas; the town's namesake, W. R. Hebbron, acquired the site |
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from descendants of the original grantee about 1880, and in 1883 he |
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established Hebbronville along the route of the Texas Mexican |
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Railway; for a time, the town ranked as the largest cattle shipping |
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center in the country, and it remains a hub of ranching activity |
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today; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the course of more than two centuries, the |
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vaquero has contributed immeasurably to the rich ranching heritage |
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of South Texas and of the Lone Star State as a whole, and it is |
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indeed fitting that the county where vaqueros have played such an |
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influential role be appropriately recognized; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas |
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hereby redesignate Jim Hogg County as the official Vaquero Capital |
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of Texas; and, be it further |
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RESOLVED, That, in accordance with the provisions of Section |
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391.003(e), Government Code, this designation remain in effect |
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until the 10th anniversary of the date this resolution is finally |
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passed by the legislature. |