Bill Text: TX HCR70 | 2025-2026 | 89th Legislature | Enrolled
Bill Title: Redesignating Jim Hogg County as the official Vaquero Capital of Texas for a 10-year period ending in 2035.
Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Passed) 2025-05-24 - Signed by the Governor [HCR70 Detail]
Download: Texas-2025-HCR70-Enrolled.html
| H.C.R. No. 70 | ||
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| 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. | ||
| Guillen | ||
| ______________________________ | ______________________________ | |
| President of the Senate | Speaker of the House | |
| I certify that H.C.R. No. 70 was adopted by the House on May | ||
| 1, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 137, Nays 0, 5 present, not | ||
| voting. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Chief Clerk of the House | ||
| I certify that H.C.R. No. 70 was adopted by the Senate on May | ||
| 9, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0. | ||
| ______________________________ | ||
| Secretary of the Senate | ||
| APPROVED: __________________ | ||
| Date | ||
| __________________ | ||
| Governor | ||
