Bill Text: TX SCR23 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Urging Congress to designate the Butterfield Overland Trail as a National Historic Trail.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-18 - Referred to Water & Rural Affairs [SCR23 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-SCR23-Introduced.html
| 86R11883 CLE-D | ||
| By: Fallon | S.C.R. No. 23 | |
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| WHEREAS, The Butterfield Overland Trail, which crosses Texas | ||
| and seven other states, was used by the Butterfield Overland Mail to | ||
| transport mail and passengers from St. Louis and Memphis to San | ||
| Francisco from 1858 to 1861; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Covering a distance of nearly 3,000 miles, the | ||
| Butterfield Overland Mail was one of the longest mail routes using | ||
| horse-drawn stagecoaches in the history of the United States; and | ||
| WHEREAS, On September 21, 1858, the Butterfield Overland Mail | ||
| stagecoach made its first stop at the Diamond Station, just west of | ||
| Whitesboro; the well-documented mail route also included stops in | ||
| Sherman and El Paso; reflecting the sense of pride that Texans share | ||
| about the historic Butterfield Overland Trail, the City of | ||
| Whitesboro unveiled special signage in 2008 to commemorate the | ||
| 150th anniversary of the Butterfield Overland Mail; and | ||
| WHEREAS, Today, Texans continue to use the Butterfield | ||
| Overland Trail recreationally; among the historic remnants and | ||
| artifacts for public use and enjoyment are historic Fort Belknap | ||
| and Fort Chadbourne, which served as stops on the Butterfield | ||
| Overland Mail, and a refurbished original Butterfield Overland Mail | ||
| stagecoach in Whitesboro; the stagecoaches were unique because of | ||
| the scenes on their doors, and no two coaches were alike; and | ||
| WHEREAS, The U.S. Department of the Interior has determined | ||
| that the Butterfield Overland Trail is eligible for designation as | ||
| a National Historic Trail because it meets all of the requirements | ||
| of the National Trails System Act and other requirements for | ||
| designation as a National Historic Trail, namely, that the trail be | ||
| nationally significant, have a well-documented route, and offer | ||
| significant potential for public recreational use; and | ||
| WHEREAS, A National Historic Trail may only be designated by | ||
| an Act of Congress, and congressional action to designate the | ||
| Butterfield Overland Trail as a National Historic Trail would help | ||
| to preserve and protect this historic route and its historic | ||
| remnants and artifacts for public use and enjoyment; now, | ||
| therefore, be it | ||
| RESOLVED, That the 86th Legislature of the State of Texas | ||
| hereby respectfully urge the Congress of the United States to | ||
| designate the Butterfield Overland Trail as a National Historic | ||
| Trail; and, be it further | ||
| RESOLVED, That the Texas secretary of state forward official | ||
| copies of this resolution to the president of the United States, to | ||
| the president of the Senate and the speaker of the House of | ||
| Representatives of the United States Congress, and to all the | ||
| members of the Texas delegation to Congress with the request that | ||
| this resolution be entered in the Congressional Record as a | ||
| memorial to the Congress of the United States of America. | ||
