87S30259 TBO-D
By: Schwertner S.C.R. No. 2
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The community of Florence in Williamson County is
home to the Gault Archaeological Site, one of the oldest known
places of human habitation in North America; and
WHEREAS, The earliest presence of humans at the Gault site
has been dated to between 16,000 and 20,000 years ago, and artifacts
recovered there show a near-continuous occupation of the area by 23
ancient cultures over the centuries; and
WHEREAS, Located in a valley along Buttermilk Creek, the site
proved an ideal place for settlement since it offered ancient
peoples an extraordinary combination of water, plentiful food, and
large amounts of Edwards chert, a type of stone used to fashion
tools; and
WHEREAS, Archaeological research being conducted at the
Gault site is enabling anthropologists to gain a better
understanding of the early inhabitants of North America and to
develop new theories about when and how the continent was first
populated by humans; and
WHEREAS, In addition to being one of the oldest
archaeological sites in North America, the Gault site is all the
more unique for being located near a contemporary community, the
city of Florence; and
WHEREAS, The Gault Archaeological Site is helping to rewrite
the history of the first peoples of the Americas, and the modern
citizens of Florence may indeed take great pride in their deep
connection to the earliest residents of the Lone Star State; now,
therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 87th Legislature of the State of Texas,
3rd Called Session, hereby designate the city of Florence as the
oldest community in Texas; and, be it further
RESOLVED, That, in accordance with the provisions of Section
391.003(e), Government Code, this designation remain in effect
until the 10th anniversary of the date this resolution is finally
passed by the legislature.