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Presidents of U.S. and Mexico dedicate International Falcon Reservoir
October 19, 1953
On this day in 1953, presidents Dwight D. Eisenhower of the United States and Adolfo Ruiz Cortines of Mexico dedicated International Falcon Reservoir. The huge lake is bounded by Starr and Zapata counties, Texas, and the county and city of Nuevo Ciudad Guerrero, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The dam and reservoir provide for water conservation, flood control, hydroelectric energy, and recreation. The project is owned, authorized, and operated by both nations through the International Boundary and Water Commission. The project is named for the town of Falcon, which was relocated to the Starr-Zapata county line upon completion of Falcon Dam in 1952. Falcon State Park, on the reservoir's southeastern shore, opened to the public in 1965. The area of the lake varies from 87,000 acres at elevation 301.2 feet to 115,400 acres at the maximum elevation of 314.2 feet. The reservoir has a summer storage capacity of 2,371,220 acre-feet.
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League of Women Voters of Texas organized in San Antonio
October 19, 1919
On this day in 1919, the League of Women Voters of Texas, a nonpartisan political organization, was formed at San Antonio, when the Texas Equal Suffrage Association was dissolved to reorganize for a new purpose. Under the forceful leadership of its first president, Jessie Daniel Ames of Georgetown, the LWVT focused its efforts on educating the newly enfranchised women voters of the state. The permanent offices of the LWVT are located in Austin.
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Earliest known explorer carves name in Devil's Sinkhole
October 19, 1889
On this day in 1889, H. S. Barber, the earliest known explorer of the Devil's Sinkhole, carved his name in the cave. Located southeast of Rocksprings in Edwards County, the Devil's Sinkhole was named in 1876 by the wives of Ammon Billings and other men who had discovered the entrance after an encounter with Indians. The pit entrance is sixty feet in diameter and expands downward into an oval room, 240 by 360 feet, that is partly filled with fallen rock. The cave is 310 feet deep. Cave explorers from all over the United States have been drawn to it because of its impressive size and rumors of lost bat rooms. Guano has been removed sporadically from the cave for use as fertilizer. The cave was added to the National Registry of Natural Landmarks in the early 1970s. It and the surrounding land are owned by the state of Texas.
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posted by Jeff - 10.18.2011 - The Texas State Historical Association
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