89R11606 HMR-D
By: Guillen H.C.R. No. 70
CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
WHEREAS, The vaquero is one of the iconic figures of the Lone
Star State, and today that heritage remains especially strong in
Jim Hogg County, where vaqueros have played a fundamental role in
that region's economy and culture since the arrival of the earliest
settlers; and
WHEREAS, Renowned for their horsemanship and stock-handling
abilities, vaqueros were crucial to the advance of Spanish ranching
into South Texas; their skills and fortitude contributed to the
development of large, open-range cattle ranches in the area south
of the Nueces River during the Spanish colonial era; these ranches
left an imprint on the landscape that is still visible today in
fortified stone blockhouses and ranch outbuildings, in historic
chapels and cemeteries, and in hand-dug wells and reservoirs that
were used to water enormous herds of livestock; and
WHEREAS, With the expansion of the Texas cattle industry in
the 1800s, the vaquero's traditions came to shape ranching
practices far beyond the Nueces; much of the equipment used by the
vaqueros, including the bandana, hat, chaps, lasso, spurs, and
saddle, were adopted by all Texas cowboys, as were the vaquero
techniques employed in mounted herding and roping; moreover, the
system of range and cattle management that evolved in Texas
subsequently spread across the High Plains and throughout the
American West; and
WHEREAS, Endowed with soils better suited to livestock
production than farming, the area of present-day Jim Hogg County
has beckoned ranchers for the past two centuries; the first known
grant within the borders of today's county was made to Xavier Vela
in 1805 and encompassed nearly 18,000 acres; between 1805 and 1836,
approximately 25 grants were conferred within the area; and
WHEREAS, Among the first ranches were Las Noriacitas, Las
Animas, San Antonio Viejo, Las Enramadas, Las Viboritas, El
Baluarte, and San Javier; another of the early operations, Randado,
was originally founded in 1830 by Hipolito Garcia and ultimately
became the most famous holding in the county; encompassing more
than 100,000 acres, it was renowned for its vast herd of Spanish
ponies, which by the 1870s numbered some 3,000 head, and for the
fine leather and horsehair accoutrements fashioned by its vaqueros;
the name of the ranch, in fact, refers to the production there of an
elaborate style of lasso, the randa; Robert E. Lee, who spent time
in Texas before the Civil War, wrote about his visit to Randado, and
the ranch figures in literary works by John Houghton Allen, Tom Lea,
and J. Frank Dobie; and
WHEREAS, Ranching remains one of the chief pillars of the
economy in Jim Hogg County, and most communities in the area have
ranching roots or associations; Agua Nueva, Cuevitas, Guerra, and
Randado all originated as ranching settlements; Hebbronville, the
county seat, is located on land that once formed part of Las
Noriacitas; the town's namesake, W. R. Hebbron, acquired the site
from descendants of the original grantee about 1880, and in 1883 he
established Hebbronville along the route of the Texas Mexican
Railway; for a time, the town ranked as the largest cattle shipping
center in the country, and it remains a hub of ranching activity
today; and
WHEREAS, Over the course of more than two centuries, the
vaquero has contributed immeasurably to the rich ranching heritage
of South Texas and of the Lone Star State as a whole, and it is
indeed fitting that the county where vaqueros have played such an
influential role be appropriately recognized; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the 89th Legislature of the State of Texas
hereby redesignate Jim Hogg County as the official Vaquero Capital
of 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.