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HRES 934 IH

Congratulating the city of Baytown, Texas, on its 60th anniversary.

January 22, 2008

Mr. GENE GREEN of Texas (for himself and Mr. POE) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform

Congratulating the city of Baytown, Texas, on its 60th anniversary.

Whereas Baytown is a city in Chambers and Harris Counties in the Gulf Coast region of the State of Texas;

Whereas Baytown is located on the northern shore of Galveston Bay, between the San Jacinto River to the west and the Trinity River to the east;

Whereas settlement of the area that is now Baytown began as early as 1822;

Whereas among the settlers of Baytown was Nathaniel Lynch, who set up a ferry crossing that is still in operation today at the junction of the San Jacinto River and the Buffalo Bayou;

Whereas many of the settlers played an influential role in the battle for Texas independence;

Whereas in 1908, an oil strike was made beside Tabbs Bay and in 1916, the Goose Creek oil field became the first offshore drilling operation in Texas;

Whereas in 1919, the directors of Humble Oil and Refining Company built a refinery in Baytown;

Whereas this refinery would become one of the largest in the world, and an influential force in Baytown and on the course of World War II;

Whereas the refinery produced over 1,000,000,000 gallons of aviation fuel during World War II and nearly half of the total butyl rubber production of the United States in 1945;

Whereas the city now known as Baytown was originally 3 separate towns;

Whereas the first of these towns was Goose Creek, named for a local creek whose name is still reflected in the area's Goose Creek Consolidated Independent School District, which dates back before 1850;

Whereas Goose Creek was followed by the consolidation of the rival communities of Pelly in the late 1910s and East Baytown in the early 1920s;

Whereas the `East' in East Baytown was later dropped because it was west of Goose Creek;

Whereas after World War I, people had begun to discuss consolidating the 3 towns into 1;

Whereas in 1947, the 3 cities finally agreed to consolidate;

Whereas the citizens settled on the name Baytown for the new combined city, and Baytown as it is known today was officially founded on January 24, 1948; and

Whereas Baytown continues to be a prosperous and growing industrial community, as the population has increased from 20,000 to almost 70,000 over the past 60 years and continues to grow: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) recognizes the significant history of the Baytown area; and

(2) congratulates the City of Baytown on its 60th anniversary.