Res 2020-248/supporting a concurrent resolution of the Texas Legislature designating the City as “The Mermaid Capital of Texas”

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RESOLUTION NO. 2020-248R A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN MARCOS, TEXAS SUPPORTING A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION OF THE TEXAS LEGISLATURE DESIGNATING THE CITY AS "THE MERMAID CAPITAL OF TEXAS"; AND DECLARING AN EFFECTIVE DATE. BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SAN MARCOS, TEXAS: PART 1. The City Council hereby supports a Concurrent Resolution of the Texas Legislature designating the City as "The Mermaid Capital of Texas" to read substantially as follows: By: C.R. No. CONCURRENT RESOLUTION WHEREAS, For thousands of years, the mermaid has been one of the most striking symbols of humanity's connection with the natural world, and over the past century, this legendary figure has come to represent the city of San Marcos and its special relationship to the water resources of Central Texas; and WHEREAS, The story of the mermaid in San Marcos begins with the abundant springs that every day release 100 million gallons of freshwater from the Edwards Aquifer into the San Marcos River; considered a sacred place by Native Americans, and regarded as the creation site of the Coahuiltecans, the springs have drawn people to their banks for more than 11,500 years, making this area what is thought to be one of the oldest continually inhabited sites in North America; and WHEREAS, In 1845, Edward Burleson, a former vice president of the Republic of Texas, dammed the headwaters of the San Marcos, thereby creating Spring Lake; over the ensuing years, the water from the lake powered gristmills, sawmills, an ice factory, and an electric light works; the San Marcos River also constituted an important water stop along the Chisholm Trail; and WHEREAS, A. B. Rogers bought Burleson's homestead in the 1920s and built a resort hotel on the shore of the lake; he later began offering rides in glass - bottomed boats that allowed visitors to see through the crystal water to the bubbling springs beneath; his son Paul, who succeeded him, established the Aquarena Springs amusement park on the property and in 1950 built an underwater theater, where young women known as "aquamaids" staged exhibitions of synchronized swimming and underwater ballet; at the peak of its popularity, the park drew up to 350,000 visitors every year and was featured in Life magazine, with the submerged theater making it to the cover of Popular Mechanics; in time, the show came to include Glurpo, a pipe -smoking clown, and a swimming pig named Ralph; and