| 1 | 1 | | H.R. No. 167 |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 5 | 5 | | WHEREAS, Fort Belknap holds a special place in the history of |
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| 6 | 6 | | the Lone Star State as it marked the starting point for the |
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| 7 | 7 | | celebrated Goodnight-Loving Trail; and |
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| 8 | 8 | | WHEREAS, Founded by General William G. Belknap, Fort Belknap |
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| 9 | 9 | | was established on June 24, 1851, near the Brazos River in Young |
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| 10 | 10 | | County; it initially served as the northern anchor of a series of |
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| 11 | 11 | | U.S. Army forts built to protect settlers on the Texas frontier; |
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| 12 | 12 | | although the fort officially closed in September 1867, it became a |
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| 13 | 13 | | hub of connecting roads, including the Butterfield Overland Mail |
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| 14 | 14 | | route, a mail and passenger stage service that stretched from |
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| 15 | 15 | | St. Louis to San Francisco; and |
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| 16 | 16 | | WHEREAS, In 1866, former Texas Ranger Charles Goodnight and |
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| 17 | 17 | | cattle runner Oliver Loving devised a plan to drive a herd of cattle |
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| 18 | 18 | | from Fort Belknap along the Butterfield Overland Mail route, hoping |
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| 19 | 19 | | to sell them to markets in New Mexico, where beef was in higher |
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| 20 | 20 | | demand; the first Goodnight-Loving cattle drive left the fort on |
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| 21 | 21 | | June 6, 1866, with 2,000 head of Texas longhorns, 18 cowhands, and |
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| 22 | 22 | | the world's first chuck wagon, which was custom-built by |
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| 23 | 23 | | Mr. Goodnight for the drive; traveling in hostile country, the |
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| 24 | 24 | | group worked its way along the Pecos River and sold the cattle at |
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| 25 | 25 | | Fort Sumner, New Mexico; the Goodnight-Loving Trail would |
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| 26 | 26 | | eventually pass through Colorado and end in Cheyenne, Wyoming, and |
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| 27 | 27 | | over the years, it grew to become one of the Southwest's most |
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| 28 | 28 | | heavily used cattle trails; and |
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| 29 | 29 | | WHEREAS, In 1936, the Works Progress Administration |
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| 30 | 30 | | allocated funds for the restoration of Fort Belknap, and the state |
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| 31 | 31 | | refurbished the buildings that still stood and rebuilt those that |
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| 32 | 32 | | had been destroyed; the fort was designated as a National Historic |
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| 33 | 33 | | Landmark in 1960; and |
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| 34 | 34 | | WHEREAS, Fort Belknap serves as a poignant link to the iconic |
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| 35 | 35 | | era of the great Western cattle drives, and it is indeed deserving |
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| 36 | 36 | | of special recognition; now, therefore, be it |
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| 37 | 37 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 88th Texas |
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| 38 | 38 | | Legislature hereby honor Fort Belknap for its historic role as the |
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| 39 | 39 | | starting point of the Goodnight-Loving Trail and pay tribute to all |
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| 40 | 40 | | those who have contributed to the fort's restoration and |
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| 41 | 41 | | preservation. |
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| 42 | 42 | | Spiller |
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| 43 | 43 | | ______________________________ |
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| 44 | 44 | | Speaker of the House |
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| 45 | 45 | | I certify that H.R. No. 167 was adopted by the House on March |
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| 46 | 46 | | 8, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 140, Nays 0, 2 present, not |
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| 47 | 47 | | voting. |
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| 48 | 48 | | ______________________________ |
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| 49 | 49 | | Chief Clerk of the House |
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