84R6605 BPG-D
By: Lozano H.C.R. No. 51
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The King Ranch is celebrating the 100th anniversary
of its Main House, the ancestral home of the King Ranch family, in
2015; and
WHEREAS, In 1854, Henrietta Chamberlain King came to the King
Ranch as the young bride of Captain Richard King, and she
established their home in a simple adobe structure on the banks of
Santa Gertrudis Creek; that dwelling was later replaced by a frame
cottage, and then by a two-story, Southern-style plantation home,
which burned to the ground in 1912; three years later, Mrs. King,
who had been widowed in 1885, her daughter Alice, and Alice's
husband, Robert Justus Kleberg Sr., finished building the splendid
Main House of the present day; and
WHEREAS, The new home, which also serves as the ranch
headquarters, was designed by Adams & Adams of San Antonio and the
interior was designed by the famed Tiffany Studios of New York;
while the 37,000-square-foot, 27-room structure is grand,
dominating the surrounding landscape, the building has also been
constructed to meet the needs of hardworking ranchers; and
WHEREAS, In 1961, the United States Department of the
Interior listed the King Ranch Main House and the King Ranch in the
National Register of Historic Places; the cultural significance of
the Main House was further acknowledged in 1980, when it received an
Official Texas Historical Marker from the Texas Historical
Commission; and
WHEREAS, Seven generations of the King Ranch family have
resided in the Main House, and it has welcomed a host of
distinguished guests, among them prominent citizens and heads of
state; today, it remains a gathering place for the family, as well
as a monument to the memories of Captain Richard King and Henrietta
King; and
WHEREAS, An iconic structure, the King Ranch Main House is an
enduring reminder of the rich ranching heritage of the Lone Star
State, and it is indeed fitting to acknowledge its role in Texas
history at this time; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 84th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby commemorate the centennial of the King Ranch Main House and
extend sincere best wishes for the future to the King Ranch family
and to all the employees of King Ranch, Inc.; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That an official copy of this resolution be
prepared for the King Ranch as an expression of high regard by the
Texas House of Representatives and Senate.