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| 6 | 7 | | R E S O L U T I O N |
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| 7 | 8 | | WHEREAS, Proud residents of La Salle County are gathering in |
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| 8 | 9 | | Austin on April 24, 2025, to celebrate La Salle County Day at the |
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| 9 | 10 | | State Capitol; and |
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| 10 | 11 | | WHEREAS, Situated in South Texas and traversed by the Nueces |
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| 11 | 12 | | and Frio Rivers, the area that is now La Salle County has been |
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| 12 | 13 | | inhabited for approximately 11,000 years; in the 1850s, the U.S. |
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| 13 | 14 | | Army briefly operated the Fort Ewell outpost on the road from |
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| 14 | 15 | | San Antonio to Laredo, and by 1871, some 60 people lived in the |
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| 15 | 16 | | nearby town of Guajoco; a number of ranchers moved into the region, |
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| 16 | 17 | | and in 1880, the county was formally organized, with Stuart's |
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| 17 | 18 | | Rancho near Guajoco designated as its first seat of government; |
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| 18 | 19 | | soon after, the International-Great Northern Railroad extended its |
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| 19 | 20 | | line into the county, with landowner Joseph Cotulla donating land |
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| 20 | 21 | | to encourage the railroad to pass through a townsite he was |
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| 21 | 22 | | developing; over the years, Cotulla became the most populous town |
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| 22 | 23 | | in the county, and the county seat was eventually moved there; and |
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| 23 | 24 | | WHEREAS, During the first decades of the 20th century, the |
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| 24 | 25 | | introduction of commercial agriculture ushered in a new period of |
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| 25 | 26 | | development, and national advertising campaigns attracted numerous |
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| 26 | 27 | | settlers, more than doubling the county's population to over 4,700 |
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| 27 | 28 | | by 1910; in addition to cattle ranching, lucrative crops such as |
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| 28 | 29 | | onions, peaches, pears, plums, figs, and cotton became staples of |
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| 29 | 30 | | the local economy; in 1940, the first oil well was drilled, and |
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| 30 | 31 | | production continued to rise in the succeeding decades, with nearly |
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| 31 | 32 | | two million barrels of crude oil produced in 1990; and |
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| 32 | 33 | | WHEREAS, Today, La Salle County has a population of more than |
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| 33 | 34 | | 6,600; the majority of the region's residents are concentrated in |
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| 34 | 35 | | the cities of Cotulla, which is home to the county's courthouse and |
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| 35 | 36 | | airport, and Encinal; since 2008, shale oil production has further |
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| 36 | 37 | | bolstered economic conditions; and |
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| 37 | 38 | | WHEREAS, Even as they celebrate their unique heritage, the |
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| 38 | 39 | | citizens of La Salle County are looking ahead to the opportunities |
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| 39 | 40 | | of the future, and they may reflect with pride on their |
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| 40 | 41 | | contributions to the story of the Lone Star State; now, therefore, |
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| 41 | 42 | | be it |
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| 42 | 43 | | RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 89th Texas |
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| 43 | 44 | | Legislature hereby recognize April 24, 2025, as La Salle County Day |
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| 44 | 45 | | at the State Capitol and extend a warm welcome to the visiting |
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| 45 | 46 | | delegation. |
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