WHEREAS, the West Dallas Gateway Pecan has served as an important waypoint marking the trail from central Dallas across the Trinity River to points south and west for over 175 years;

 AND WHEREAS, the West Dallas Gateway Pecan sits where many trails converged near a low-water crossing of the Trinity River that was used by both the bison herds and their hunters prior to the settlement of Dallas and cattle drives on the Shawnee Trail in the early years of Dallas;

 AND WHEREAS, the West Dallas Gateway Pecan saw the construction of the first Commerce Street bridge in 1855 and sits at the junction of the old Eagle Ford Road and the old Fort Worth Pike taking early settlers and traders to all points west of Dallas;

 AND WHEREAS, the West Dallas Gateway Pecan sat in the Trinity River floodplain prior to construction of levees and served as a rescue point for people on the west side of the Trinity during major floods in 1866, 1871, 1890, and 1908;

 AND WHEREAS, West Dallasite C. W. Heppner lived adjacent to the West Dallas Gateway Pecan in a three-story house with a pier on the side used for rescue boats during the floods and helped organize the Trinity River Levee and Drainage Club to adopt plans for channeling the Trinity River and building levees to protect both downtown and West Dallas;

 AND WHEREAS, the West Dallas Gateway Pecan served as a shady gathering place for vendors to sell food and goods to the people of West Dallas and has survived the construction of the levee, construction of roads, and multiple impacts from passing vehicles;

 NOW THEREFORE, the Texas Historic Tree Coalition does hereby proclaim the West Dallas Gateway Pecan to be an official Historic Tree, which will be listed in our Historic Tree Registry as a living legend and testament to our history as a nation,

 ON THIS DAY, November 4th, 2022.