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| 6 | 7 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 7 | 8 | | WHEREAS, Residents of McAllen are gathering at the State |
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| 8 | 9 | | Capitol on February 4, 2025, to celebrate this vibrant South Texas |
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| 9 | 10 | | community; and |
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| 10 | 11 | | WHEREAS, McAllen traces its history to 1797, when Spanish |
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| 11 | 12 | | settler Jose Manuel Gomez founded the Santa Anita Ranch in what is |
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| 12 | 13 | | now southern Hidalgo County; the ranch grew in size and was |
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| 13 | 14 | | eventually inherited by Mr. Gomez's great-granddaughter, Salome |
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| 14 | 15 | | Balli, who married John McAllen; together, they continued to add to |
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| 15 | 16 | | the property and renamed it McAllen Ranch; and |
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| 16 | 17 | | WHEREAS, In 1904, the St. Louis, Brownsville and Mexico |
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| 17 | 18 | | Railroad arrived, and that same year, Mr. McAllen and other early |
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| 18 | 19 | | settlers launched the McAllen Townsite Company and established a |
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| 19 | 20 | | community that was named for John McAllen; other developers founded |
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| 20 | 21 | | East McAllen in 1907, and the two towns eventually merged, becoming |
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| 21 | 22 | | home to a growing number of businesses, churches, residences, and a |
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| 22 | 23 | | newspaper; by 1920, the city had a population of some 6,000 |
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| 23 | 24 | | residents; and |
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| 24 | 25 | | WHEREAS, Over the last five decades, McAllen has grown into a |
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| 25 | 26 | | thriving center for business, commerce, and government in the Rio |
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| 26 | 27 | | Grande Valley; as a result of its retail tax strength, the city has |
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| 27 | 28 | | one of the lowest property tax rates in the region, and it continues |
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| 28 | 29 | | to be listed among the fastest-growing metropolitan statistical |
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| 29 | 30 | | areas in the country; U.S. News & World Report ranked McAllen No. 3 |
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| 30 | 31 | | in the category of best places to live in the U.S. for quality of |
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| 31 | 32 | | life for 2020-2021, and it was recently rated by the publication as |
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| 32 | 33 | | the second-best place to live in Texas for 2024-2025; furthermore, |
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| 33 | 34 | | SmartAsset ranked McAllen as the third-safest city in America in |
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| 34 | 35 | | 2023; and |
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| 35 | 36 | | WHEREAS, McAllen is renowned for its natural beauty and is |
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| 36 | 37 | | home to Quinta Mazatlan, a Spanish revival estate set amid |
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| 37 | 38 | | sprawling tropical gardens; this unique conference and events |
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| 38 | 39 | | center encompasses quiet trails winding through more than 15 acres |
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| 39 | 40 | | of birding habitat that is visited by more than 500 species; and |
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| 40 | 41 | | WHEREAS, The city also features a rich array of cultural |
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| 41 | 42 | | attractions, and in 2022, Governor Greg Abbott announced that |
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| 42 | 43 | | McAllen had been named a Music Friendly Community by the Texas Music |
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| 43 | 44 | | Office, a designation that will help the city to foster further |
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| 44 | 45 | | economic development related to the music industry; and |
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| 45 | 46 | | WHEREAS, McAllen has built a reputation as an outstanding |
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| 46 | 47 | | place to live, work, and raise a family, and its citizens may indeed |
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| 47 | 48 | | take great pride in the prominent role that their city continues to |
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| 48 | 49 | | play in the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it |
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| 49 | 50 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
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| 50 | 51 | | Legislature hereby recognize February 4, 2025, as McAllen Day at |
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| 51 | 52 | | the State Capitol and extend to the visiting delegation sincere |
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| 52 | 53 | | best wishes for a memorable visit to Austin. |
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