Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HCR70 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	89R11606 HMR-D
2	2	By: Guillen H.C.R. No. 70
3	3
4	4
5	5
6	6
7	7	CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
8	8	WHEREAS, The vaquero is one of the iconic figures of the Lone
9	9	Star State, and today that heritage remains especially strong in
10	10	Jim Hogg County, where vaqueros have played a fundamental role in
11	11	that region's economy and culture since the arrival of the earliest
12	12	settlers; and
13	13	WHEREAS, Renowned for their horsemanship and stock-handling
14	14	abilities, vaqueros were crucial to the advance of Spanish ranching
15	15	into South Texas; their skills and fortitude contributed to the
16	16	development of large, open-range cattle ranches in the area south
17	17	of the Nueces River during the Spanish colonial era; these ranches
18	18	left an imprint on the landscape that is still visible today in
19	19	fortified stone blockhouses and ranch outbuildings, in historic
20	20	chapels and cemeteries, and in hand-dug wells and reservoirs that
21	21	were used to water enormous herds of livestock; and
22	22	WHEREAS, With the expansion of the Texas cattle industry in
23	23	the 1800s, the vaquero's traditions came to shape ranching
24	24	practices far beyond the Nueces; much of the equipment used by the
25	25	vaqueros, including the bandana, hat, chaps, lasso, spurs, and
26	26	saddle, were adopted by all Texas cowboys, as were the vaquero
27	27	techniques employed in mounted herding and roping; moreover, the
28	28	system of range and cattle management that evolved in Texas
29	29	subsequently spread across the High Plains and throughout the
30	30	American West; and
31	31	WHEREAS, Endowed with soils better suited to livestock
32	32	production than farming, the area of present-day Jim Hogg County
33	33	has beckoned ranchers for the past two centuries; the first known
34	34	grant within the borders of today's county was made to Xavier Vela
35	35	in 1805 and encompassed nearly 18,000 acres; between 1805 and 1836,
36	36	approximately 25 grants were conferred within the area; and
37	37	WHEREAS, Among the first ranches were Las Noriacitas, Las
38	38	Animas, San Antonio Viejo, Las Enramadas, Las Viboritas, El
39	39	Baluarte, and San Javier; another of the early operations, Randado,
40	40	was originally founded in 1830 by Hipolito Garcia and ultimately
41	41	became the most famous holding in the county; encompassing more
42	42	than 100,000 acres, it was renowned for its vast herd of Spanish
43	43	ponies, which by the 1870s numbered some 3,000 head, and for the
44	44	fine leather and horsehair accoutrements fashioned by its vaqueros;
45	45	the name of the ranch, in fact, refers to the production there of an
46	46	elaborate style of lasso, the randa; Robert E. Lee, who spent time
47	47	in Texas before the Civil War, wrote about his visit to Randado, and
48	48	the ranch figures in literary works by John Houghton Allen, Tom Lea,
49	49	and J. Frank Dobie; and
50	50	WHEREAS, Ranching remains one of the chief pillars of the
51	51	economy in Jim Hogg County, and most communities in the area have
52	52	ranching roots or associations; Agua Nueva, Cuevitas, Guerra, and
53	53	Randado all originated as ranching settlements; Hebbronville, the
54	54	county seat, is located on land that once formed part of Las
55	55	Noriacitas; the town's namesake, W. R. Hebbron, acquired the site
56	56	from descendants of the original grantee about 1880, and in 1883 he
57	57	established Hebbronville along the route of the Texas Mexican
58	58	Railway; for a time, the town ranked as the largest cattle shipping
59	59	center in the country, and it remains a hub of ranching activity
60	60	today; and
61	61	WHEREAS, Over the course of more than two centuries, the
62	62	vaquero has contributed immeasurably to the rich ranching heritage
63	63	of South Texas and of the Lone Star State as a whole, and it is
64	64	indeed fitting that the county where vaqueros have played such an
65	65	influential role be appropriately recognized; now, therefore, be it
66	66	RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas
67	67	hereby redesignate Jim Hogg County as the official Vaquero Capital
68	68	of Texas; and, be it further
69	69	RESOLVED, That, in accordance with the provisions of Section
70	70	391.003(e), Government Code, this designation remain in effect
71	71	until the 10th anniversary of the date this resolution is finally
72	72	passed by the legislature.