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R E S O L U T I O N
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WHEREAS, Residents of McAllen are gathering at the State |
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Capitol on February 4, 2025, to celebrate this vibrant South Texas |
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community; and |
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WHEREAS, McAllen traces its history to 1797, when Spanish |
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settler Jose Manuel Gomez founded the Santa Anita Ranch in what is |
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now southern Hidalgo County; the ranch grew in size and was |
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eventually inherited by Mr. Gomez's great-granddaughter, Salome |
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Balli, who married John McAllen; together, they continued to add to |
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the property and renamed it McAllen Ranch; and |
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WHEREAS, In 1904, the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico |
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Railroad arrived, and that same year, Mr. McAllen and other early |
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settlers launched the McAllen Townsite Company and established a |
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community that was named for John McAllen; other developers founded |
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East McAllen in 1907, and the two towns eventually merged, becoming |
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home to a growing number of businesses, churches, residences, and a |
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newspaper; by 1920, the city had a population of some 6,000 |
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residents; and |
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WHEREAS, Over the last five decades, McAllen has grown into a |
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thriving center for business, commerce, and government in the Rio |
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Grande Valley; as a result of its retail tax strength, the city has |
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one of the lowest property tax rates in the region, and it continues |
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to be listed among the fastest-growing metropolitan statistical |
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areas in the country; U.S. News & World Report ranked McAllen No. 3 |
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in the category of best places to live in the U.S. for quality of |
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life for 2020-2021, and it was recently rated by the publication as |
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the second-best place to live in Texas for 2024-2025; furthermore, |
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SmartAsset ranked McAllen as the third-safest city in America in |
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2023; and |
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WHEREAS, McAllen is renowned for its natural beauty and is |
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home to Quinta Mazatlan, a Spanish revival estate set amid |
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sprawling tropical gardens; this unique conference and events |
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center encompasses quiet trails winding through more than 15 acres |
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of birding habitat that is visited by more than 500 species; and |
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WHEREAS, The city also features a rich array of cultural |
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attractions, and in 2022, Governor Greg Abbott announced that |
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McAllen had been named a Music Friendly Community by the Texas Music |
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Office, a designation that will help the city to foster further |
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economic development related to the music industry; and |
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WHEREAS, McAllen has built a reputation as an outstanding |
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place to live, work, and raise a family, and its citizens may indeed |
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take great pride in the prominent role that their city continues to |
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play in the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
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Legislature hereby recognize February 4, 2025, as McAllen Day at |
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the State Capitol and extend to the visiting delegation sincere |
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best wishes for a memorable visit to Austin. |