TITLE: Recognizing February 12, 2013, as Wise County Day at the State Capitol.

SUMMARY: Recognizing February 12, 2013, as Wise County Day at the State Capitol.

FULL TEXT:
WHEREAS, Residents of Wise County are visiting Austin on February 12, 2013, to celebrate Wise County Day at the State Capitol; and WHEREAS, Located in the northwestern part of the state, Wise County has a varied terrain, much of which has proven to be fertile farmland; the first known inhabitants of the area in historic times were the Wichita, followed by groups of Caddo, Delaware, and Kichai; Anglo settlers arrived in the 1850s, and on January 23, 1856, the county was carved out of Cooke County by legislative act and named in honor of Henry A. Wise, a U.S. congressman from Virginia who had supported the annexation of Texas; at the same time as it created Wise County, the legislature decreed that its county seat be established within five miles of the county's center, and two years later that new community became known as Decatur, after the naval hero Stephen Decatur; and WHEREAS, The eastern fork of the Chisholm Trail passed near Decatur during the latter half of the 19th century, and the town prospered as a shipping point and market for local farmers; today, it is a center for natural gas production, specialty carbon and graphite manufacturing, and health care, as well as marketing and processing for Wise County agribusiness; visitors are drawn to Decatur by such historic attractions as the Waggoner Mansion, the Wise County Heritage Museum, the Wise County Veterans Park, and the pink granite Wise County Courthouse, which was completed in 1896; and WHEREAS, Wise County is home to a variety of recreational opportunities provided by Lake Bridgeport, Eagle Mountain Lake, and the Caddo-Lyndon B. Johnson National Grasslands; in addition, area residents celebrate their heritage with the annual Butterfield Stage Days Festival in May, the Wise County Old Settlers Reunion in July, and the Chisholm Trail Days and Western Heritage Festival in September; and WHEREAS, The citizens of Wise County may take justifiable pride in their corner of Texas and know that it has contributed immensely to the development and vitality of the Lone Star State; now, therefore, be it RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives of the 83rd Texas Legislature hereby recognize February 12, 2013, as Wise County Day at the State Capitol and extend best wishes to the visiting delegation for an informative and enjoyable stay in Austin. King of Parker Straus M. Gonzalez of El Paso Oliveira Allen N. Gonzalez of El Paso Orr Alonzo Gooden Otto Alvarado Guerra Paddie Anchia Guillen Parker Anderson Gutierrez Patrick Ashby Harless Perez Aycock Harper-Brown Perry Bell Hernandez Luna Phillips Bohac Herrero Pickett Bonnen of Brazoria Hilderbran Pitts Bonnen of Galveston Howard Price Branch Huberty Raney Burkett Hughes Ratliff Burnam Hunter Raymond Button Isaac Reynolds Callegari Johnson Riddle Canales Kacal Ritter Capriglione Keffer Rodriguez of Bexar Carter King of Hemphill Rodriguez of Travis Clardy King of Parker Rose Coleman King of Taylor Sanford Collier King of Zavala Schaefer Cook Kleinschmidt Sheets Cortez Klick Sheffield of Bell Craddick Kolkhorst Sheffield of Coryell Creighton Krause Simmons Crownover Kuempel Simpson Dale Larson Smith Darby Laubenberg Smithee Davis of Dallas Lavender Springer J. Davis of Harris Leach Stephenson S. Davis of Harris Lewis Stickland Deshotel Longoria Strama Dukes Lozano Taylor Dutton Lucio III Thompson of Brazoria Eiland Marquez Thompson of Harris Elkins Martinez Toth Fallon Martinez Fischer Turner of Collin Farias McClendon Turner of Harris Farney Menendez Turner of Tarrant Farrar Miles Villalba Fletcher Miller of Comal Villarreal Flynn Miller of Fort Bend Vo Frank Moody Walle Frullo Morrison White Geren Munoz, Jr. Workman Giddings Murphy Wu Goldman Naishtat Zedler Gonzales Nevarez Zerwas Speaker of the House I certify that H.R. No. 340 was adopted by the House on February 12, 2013, by a non-record vote. Chief Clerk of the House