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HOUSE 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 the heritage of the vaqueros remains |
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especially strong in Jim Hogg County, where they have played a |
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fundamental role in that region's economy and culture since the |
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arrival of the earliest 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; from the mid-18th century onward, their skills |
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and fortitude figured greatly in the development of large, |
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open-range cattle ranches in the region south of the Nueces River; |
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and |
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WHEREAS, These ranches left an imprint on the landscape that |
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is visible today in fortified stone blockhouses and in ranch |
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outbuildings, in chapels and cemeteries, in hand-dug wells, and in |
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man-made reservoirs that made it possible to assemble enormous |
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herds of livestock for drives north; and |
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WHEREAS, With the expansion of the Texas cattle industry in |
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the 19th century, the vaquero's traditions came to shape ranching |
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practices far beyond the Nueces; over the years, much of the |
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vaquero's equipment--his chaps, bandana, sombrero, lasso, spurs, |
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and saddle--became the standard gear of all Texas cowboys, while |
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elements of his craft, such as mounted herding and roping |
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techniques, also influenced early Anglo-American methods; the |
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system of range management and working cattle that evolved in |
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Texas, a system infused with vaquero lore, subsequently spread |
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across the High Plains and western part of the United States; 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; altogether, between |
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1805 and 1836, approximately 25 grants were conferred within the |
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county; and |
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WHEREAS, Among the first ranches founded in the area were |
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Randado, Las Noriacitas, Las Animas, San Antonio Viejo, Las |
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Enramadas, Las Viboritas, El Baluarte, and San Javier, while |
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important spreads in the latter 1800s included Randado, Las |
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Noriacitas, San Javier, and El Sordo; and |
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WHEREAS, Some of the earliest ranches to be established in |
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Jim Hogg County are still held by descendants of the original |
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owners; the most famous of these venerable ranches, Randado, was |
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originally occupied in 1830 by Hipolito Garcia and is now one of the |
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oldest continuously operated ranches in the nation; and |
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WHEREAS, Formerly embracing more than 100,000 acres, Randado |
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was famed both for its vast herd of Spanish ponies, which by the |
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1870s numbered some 3,000 head, and for the fine leather and |
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horsehair accoutrements fashioned by its vaqueros; the name of the |
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ranch, in fact, refers to the production there of an elaborate style |
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of lasso, the randa; Robert E. Lee, who spent time in Texas before |
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the Civil War, wrote about his visit to Randado, and the ranch |
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figured in literary works by John Houghton Allen, Tom Lea, and J. |
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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; and |
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WHEREAS, Hebbronville, the county seat, is located on land |
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that once formed part of Las Noriacitas; the town's namesake, W. R. |
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Hebbron, acquired the site from descendants of the original grantee |
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about 1880, and in 1883 he established Hebbronville along the route |
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of the Texas Mexican Railway; and |
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WHEREAS, For a time, Hebbronville ranked as the largest |
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cattle shipping center in the country, and to this day it is a hub of |
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ranching activity; when award-winning director/producer Hector |
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Galan made a documentary about the vaquero in the mid-1980s, he shot |
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most of the film in Hebbronville, and the city hosts an annual |
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Vaquero Festival every year, on the first weekend in November; and |
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WHEREAS, Through a deep appreciation of the land and through |
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expertise honed over centuries, the vaquero has contributed |
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immeasurably to the settlement of South Texas and to the rich |
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ranching heritage of the Lone Star State, and it is fitting that the |
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county where he has played such a far-reaching role continue to be |
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appropriately recognized; now, therefore, be it |
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RESOLVED, That the 84th 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 its designation. |
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