[Congressional Record Volume 156, Number 45 (Tuesday, March 23, 2010)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E464]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               THE LEGENDARY PRICE PRUETT OF BAYTOWN, TX

                                 ______
                                 

                              HON. TED POE

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 23, 2010

  Mr. POE of Texas. Madam Speaker, we often speak of great American 
heroes like Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson. 
In Texas, we speak of state heroes like Sam Houston, Stephen F. Austin, 
and William Barrett Travis. Similar to these great men, in the Second 
District of Texas, we honor local community heroes like Price Pruett.
  Price Pruett was born in the 1800s on a farm in Dayton located in 
southeast Texas. He attended college at Southwestern University in 
Georgetown and graduated with a major in Business Administration. After 
college he spent time rounding up cattle in between Beaumont and 
Houston. Following in the footsteps of his grandfather who was a 
rancher in Liberty County, Pruett later established his own ranch in 
the area now known as Baytown.
  In 1902 he married Georgia Estelle Lawrence and the two built a home 
located at Baytown's present-day Bicentennial Park. In 1917 Pruett 
teamed up with good friend Ross S. Sterling to form Goose Creek Realty 
Co. Sterling bought land from Pruett that was acquired when he 
established his ranch. The land was used for a new town and railroad 
depot. The town eventually became Goose Creek which was the first 
incorporated town in east Harris County.
  Pruett and Sterling worked hard to sell a great amount of land. The 
offices of Goose Creek Realty Co. became the depot for the Dayton-Goose 
Creek Railroad. One of their most notable contributions to the area was 
the preservation of the beloved oak tree on Texas Avenue. Even when 
developers recommended cutting the tree down to extend roads in the 
town Pruett refused.
  It has become a long-standing tradition in Baytown to keep the tree 
alive and well. It is a way for the citizens to honor the men who 
worked hard to preserve its beauty and originality. Pruett would be 
proud to know the people of Baytown have continued to carry on his 
legacy. Today we honor Price Pruett for the establishment of the town 
and for helping to initiate a tradition of pride, one well-known to the 
constituents of southeast Texas.