Indigenous peoples occupied areas along the river for thousands of years. In historic times, the area of present-day Waco was occupied by the WichitaIndian tribe known as the "Waco" (Spanish: Hueco or Huaco).
In 1824, Thomas M. Duke was sent to explore the area after violence erupted between the Waco people and the European settlers.
His report to Stephen F. Austin, described the Waco village:[13]
This town is situated on the West Bank of the river. They have a spring almost as cold as ice itself. All we want is some Brandy and Sugar to have Ice Toddy. They have about 400 acres (1.6 km2) planted in corn, beans, pumpkins, and melons and that tended in good order. I think they cannot raise more than One Hundred Warriors.
— Thomas M. Duke, Stephen F. Austin Papers
After further violence, Austin halted an attempt to destroy their village in retaliation. In 1825, he made a treaty with them.
The Waco were eventually pushed out of the region, settling north near present-day Fort Worth. In 1872, they were moved onto a reservation in Oklahoma with other Wichita tribes. In 1902, the Waco received allotments of land and became official US citizens.
Neil McLennan settled in an area near the South Bosque River in 1838.[14]Jacob De Cordova bought McLennan's property[15] and hired a former Texas Ranger and surveyor named George B. Erath to inspect the area.[16] In 1849, Erath designed the first block of the city. Property owners wanted to name the city Lamartine, but Erath convinced them to name the area Waco Village, after the Indians who had lived there.[17] In March 1849, Shapley Prince Ross, the father of future Governor Lawrence Sullivan Ross, built the first house in Waco, a double-log cabin, on a bluff overlooking the springs. His daughter Kate was the first settler child born in Waco. Because of this, Ross is considered to have been the founder of Waco, Texas.[18]
1866–1900
Waco in 1886Suspension Bridge, Waco, Texas
In 1866, Waco's leading citizens embarked on an ambitious project to build the first bridge to span the wide Brazos River. They formed the Waco Bridge Company to build the 475-foot (145 m) brick Waco Suspension Bridge, which was completed in 1870. The company commissioned a firm owned by John Augustus Roebling in Trenton, New Jersey, to supply the bridge's cables and steelwork and contracted with Mr. Thomas M. Griffith, a civil engineer based in New York, for the supervisory engineering work.[19] The economic effects of the Waco bridge were immediate and large. The cowboys and cattle-herds following the Chisholm Trail north, crossed the Brazos River at Waco. Some chose to pay the Suspension Bridge toll, while others floated their herds down the river. The population of Waco grew rapidly, as immigrants now had a safe crossing for their horse-drawn carriages and wagons. Since 1971, the bridge has been open only to pedestrian traffic and is in the National Register of Historic Places.
In the late 19th century, a red-light district called the "Reservation" grew up in Waco, and prostitution was regulated by the city. The Reservation was suppressed in the early 20th century. In 1885, the soft drinkDr Pepper was invented in Waco at Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store.[24]
In 1845, Baylor University was founded in Independence, Texas. It moved to Waco in 1886 and merged with Waco University, becoming an integral part of the city. The university's Strecker Museum was also the oldest continuously operating museum in the state until it closed in 2003, and the collections moved to the new Mayborn Museum Complex. In 1873, AddRan College was founded by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark in Fort Worth. The school moved to Waco in 1895, changing its name to Add-Ran Christian University and taking up residence in the empty buildings of Waco Female College. Add-Ran changed its name to Texas Christian University in 1902 and left Waco after the school's main building burned down in 1910.[25] TCU was offered a 50-acre (200,000 m2) campus and $200,000 by the city of Fort Worth to relocate there.[25]
Racial segregation was common in Waco. For example, Greenwood Cemetery was established in the 1870s as a segregated burial place. Black graves were divided from white ones by a fence which remained standing until 2016.[26]
In the 1890s, William Cowper Brann published the highly successful Iconoclast newspaper in Waco. One of his targets was Baylor University. Brann revealed Baylor officials had been trafficking South American children recruited by missionaries and making house-servants out of them. Brann was shot in the back by Tom Davis, a Baylor supporter. Brann then wheeled, drew his pistol, and killed Davis. Brann was helped home by his friends, and died there of his wounds.
In 1894, the first Cotton Palace fair and exhibition center was built to reflect the dominant contribution of the agricultural cotton industry in the region. Since the end of the Civil War, cotton had been cultivated in the Brazos and Bosque valleys, and Waco had become known nationwide as a top producer. Over the next 23 years, the annual exposition would welcome over eight million attendees. The opulent building which housed the month-long exhibition was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1910. In 1931, the exposition fell prey to the Great Depression, and the building was torn down. However, the annual Cotton Palace Pageant continues, hosted in late April in conjunction with the Brazos River Festival.
On September 15, 1896, "The Crash" took place about 15 miles (24 km) north of Waco. "The Crash at Crush" was a publicity stunt done by the Missouri–Kansas–Texas Railroad company (known as M-K-T or "Katy"), featuring two locomotives intentionally set to a head-on collision. Meant to be a family fun event with food, games, and entertainment, the Crash turned deadly when both boilers exploded simultaneously, sending metal flying in the air. Three people died and dozens were injured.[27]
20th century
Washington Avenue Bridge (postcard, c. 1908), built in 1902, it was the longest single-span steel bridge in the world.
Lynching of Jesse Washington in Waco on May 15, 1916. He was repeatedly lowered and raised onto a fire for about two hours.
In 1916, a Black teenager named Jesse Washington was tortured, mutilated, and burned to death in the town square by a mob that seized him from the courthouse, where he had been convicted of murdering a white woman, to which he confessed. About 15,000 spectators, mostly citizens of Waco, were present. The commonly named Waco Horror drew international condemnation and became the cause célèbre of the nascent NAACP's anti-lynching campaign. In 2006, the Waco City Council officially condemned the lynching, which took place without opposition from local political or judicial leaders; the mayor and chief of police were spectators. On the centenary of the lynching, May 15, 2016, the mayor apologized in a ceremony to some of Washington's descendants. A historical marker is being erected.[29]
In the 1920s, despite the popularity of the Ku Klux Klan and high numbers of lynchings throughout Texas, Waco's authorities attempted to respond to the NAACP's campaign and institute more protections for African Americans or others threatened with mob violence and lynching.[30] On May 26, 1922, Jesse Thomas was shot, his body dragged down Franklin street by a crowd some 6,000 strong and the corpse then burned in the public square behind city hall.[31] In 1923, Waco's sheriff Leslie Stegall protected Roy Mitchell, an African American coerced into confessing to multiple murders, from mob lynching. Mitchell was the last Texan to be publicly executed in Texas, and also the last to be hanged before the introduction of the electric chair.[30] In the same year, the Texas Legislature created the Tenth Civil Court of Appeals and placed it in Waco; it is now known as the 10th Court of Appeals.
In 1937, Grover C. Thomsen and R. H. Roark created a soft-drink called "Sun Tang Red Cream Soda". This would become known as the soft drink Big Red.
On May 5, 1942, Waco Army Air Field opened as a basic pilot training school, and on June 10, 1949, the name was changed to Connally Air Force Base in memory of Col. James T. Connally, a local pilot killed in Japan in 1945. The name changed again in 1951 to the James Connally Air Force Base. The base closed in May 1966 and is now the location of Texas State Technical College, formerly Texas State Technical Institute, since 1965. The airfield is still in operation, now known as TSTC Waco Airport, and was used by Air Force One when former US PresidentGeorge W. Bush visited his Prairie Chapel Ranch, also known as the Western White House, in Crawford, Texas.
On May 11, 1953, a violent F5 tornado hit downtown Waco, killing 114.[32] As of 2011, it remains the 11th-deadliest tornado in U.S. history and tied for the deadliest in Texas state history.[33] It was the first tornado tracked by radar and helped spur the creation of a nationwide storm surveillance system. A granite monument featuring the names of those killed was placed downtown in 2004.[34]
In 1964, the Texas Department of Public Safety designated Waco as the site for the state-designated official museum of the legendary Texas Rangers law enforcement agency founded in 1823. In 1976, it was further designated the official Hall of Fame for the Rangers and renamed the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum. Renovations by the Waco government earned this building green status, the first Waco government-led project of its nature. The construction project has fallen under scrutiny for expanding the building over unmarked human graves.
In 1978, bones were discovered emerging from the mud at the confluence of the Brazos and Bosque Rivers. Excavations revealed the bones were 68,000 years old and belonged to a species of mammoth. Eventually, the remains of at least 24 mammoths, one camel, and one large cat were found at the site, making it one of the largest findings of its kind. Scholars have puzzled over why such a large herd had been killed at once. The bones are on display at the Waco Mammoth National Monument, part of the National Park Service.
On February 28, 1993, a shootout occurred in which six Branch Davidians and four agents of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms died. After 51 days, on April 19, 1993, the standoff ended when the Branch Davidians' facility, referred to as Mt. Carmel, was set ablaze, thirteen miles from Waco.[35] 74 people, including leader David Koresh, died in the blaze.
21st century
During the presidency of George W. Bush, Waco was the home to the White House Press Center. The press center provided briefing and office facilities for the press corps whenever Bush visited his "Western White House" Prairie Chapel Ranch near Crawford, about 25 miles (40 km) northwest of Waco.
On May 17, 2015, a violent dispute among rival biker gangs broke out at Twin Peaks restaurant. The Waco police intervened, with nine dead and 18 injured in the incident. More than 170 were arrested.[36] No bystanders, Twin Peak employees, or officers were killed. This was the most high-profile criminal incident since the Waco siege, and the deadliest shootout in the city's history.
Geography
Lake Waco – southern half of the lake with State Highway 6 Twin Bridges in view
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 95.5 square miles (247 km2), of which 84.2 square miles (218 km2) is land and 11.3 square miles (29 km2) is covered by water. The total area is 11.85% water.
Waco experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classificationCfa), characterized by hot summers and generally mild winters. Some 90 °F (32 °C) temperatures have been observed in every month of the year. The record low temperature is −5 °F (−21 °C), set on January 31, 1949; the record high temperature is 114 °F (46 °C), set on July 23, 2018.[38]
Climate data for Waco Regional Airport, Texas, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1901–present
Waco city, Texas – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 138,486 people, 50,108 households, and 29,014 families residing in the city.
At the census of 2010,[7] 124,805 people resided in the city, organized into 51,452 households and 27,115 families. The population density was recorded as 1,350.6 people per square mile (521.5/km2), with 45,819 housing units at an average density of 544.2 per square mile (210.1/km2). The 2000 racial makeup of the city was 60.8% White, 22.7% African American, 1.4% Asian, 0.5% Native American, 0.1% Pacific Islander, 12.4% from other races, and 2.3% from two or more races. About 23.6% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race. Non-Hispanic Whites were 45.8% of the population in 2010,[45] down from 66.6% in 1980.[46]
In 2000, the census recorded 42,279 households, of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.4% were married couples living together, 16.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% were not families. Around 31.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.9% had someone living alone at 65 years of age or older. The average household size was calculated as 2.49 and the average family size 3.19.
In 2000, 25.4% of the population was under the age of 18, 20.3% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 16.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $26,264, and for a family was $33,919. Males had a median income of $26,902 versus $21,159 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,584. About 26.3% of the population and 19.3% of families lived below the poverty line. Of the total population, 30.9% of those under the age of 18 and 13.0% of those 65 and older lived below the poverty line.
A 2020 census showed on a heat map that McLennan County displayed an estimated 1.3% of partnered households that are same-sex.[47]
Economy
Aerial view of downtown Waco in 2009; Brazos River to the left and campus of Baylor University in the upper right
According to the Greater Waco Chamber of Commerce, the top employers in McLennan County are:[48][49]
Notable attractions in Waco include the Hawaiian Falls water park and the Grand Lodge of Texas, one of the largest Grand Lodges in the world.[56] The Waco Suspension Bridge is a single-span suspension bridge built in 1870, crossing the Brazos River.[57] Indian Spring Park marks the location of the origin of the town of Waco, where the Huaco Indians had settled on the bank of the river, at the location of an icy cold spring.[58] The Doris Miller Memorial is a public art installation along the banks of the Brazos River.[59] A nine-foot bronze statue of Miller was unveiled on December 7, 2017, temporarily located at nearby Bledsoe-Miller Park.[60]
Waco Mammoth National Monument is a partnership between the City of Waco, Baylor University, the Waco Mammoth Foundation and the National Park Service. The site contains the fossils of 24 Columbian mammoths and other animals, including a tortoise, a camel and a sabretooth tiger.
Downtown Waco is home to Magnolia Market, a shopping complex containing specialty stores, food trucks, and event space, set in repurposed grain silos originally built in 1950 for the Brazos Valley Cotton Oil Company.[61] The Magnolia Market, operated by Chip and Joanna Gaines of the HGTV TV series Fixer Upper, saw 1.2 million visitors in 2016.[62]
The Waco BlueCats, an independent minor league baseball team, planned to play in the inaugural season of the Southwest League of Professional Baseball in 2019. A new ballpark was planned for the suburb of Bellmead.[63]
Previous professional sports franchises in Waco have proven unsuccessful. The Waco Marshals of the National Indoor Football League lasted less than two months amidst a midseason ownership change in 2004. (The team became the beleaguered Cincinnati Marshals the following year.) The Waco Wizards of the now-defunct Western Professional Hockey League fared better, lasting into a fourth season before folding in 2000. Both teams played at the Heart O' Texas Coliseum, one of Waco's largest entertainment and sports venues.
The Southern Indoor Football League announced that Waco was an expansion market for the 2010 season. It was rumored they would play in the Heart O' Texas Coliseum. However, the league broke up into three separate leagues, and subsequently, a team did not come to Waco in any of the new leagues.
Professional baseball first came to Waco in 1889 with the formation of the Waco Tigers, a member of the Texas League. The Tigers were renamed the Navigators in 1905, and later the Steers. In 1920, the team was sold to Wichita Falls. In 1923, a new franchise called the Indians was formed and became a member of the Class D level Texas Association. In 1925, Waco rejoined the Texas League with the formation of the Waco Cubs.
On June 20, 1930, the first night game in Texas League history was played at Katy Park in Waco. The lights were donated by Waco resident Charles Redding Turner, who owned a local farm team for recruits to the Chicago Cubs.
On the night of August 6, 1930, baseball history was made at Katy Park: in the eighth inning of a night game against Beaumont, Waco left fielder Gene Rye became the only player in the history of professional baseball to hit three home runs in one inning.
The last year Waco had a team in the Texas League was 1930, but fielded some strong semipro teams in the 1930s and early 1940s. During the World War II years of 1943–1945, the powerful Waco Army Air Field team was probably the best in the state; many major leaguers played for the team, and it was managed by big-league catcher Birdie Tebbetts.
In 1948, A.H. Kirksey, owner of Katy Park, persuaded the Pittsburgh Pirates club to take over the Waco operation, and the nickname was changed to Pirates. The Pirates vaulted into third place in 1948. They dropped a notch to fourth in 1949, but prevailed in the playoffs to win the league championship. The Pirates then tumbled into the second division, bottoming out with a dreadful 29–118, 0.197 club in 1952. This mark ranks as one of the 10 worst marks of any 20th-century full-season team. When the tornado struck in 1953, it destroyed the park. The team relocated to Longview to finish the season and finished a respectable third with a 77–68 record.
Waco has many golf clubs and courses, including Cottonwood Creek Golf Course.[64]
In 2018, Bicycle World Texas IronMan 70.3 Waco held its inaugural event in the city on October 26.[65]
Parks and recreation
A seven-mile scenic riverwalk along the east and west banks of the Brazos River stretches from the Baylor campus to Cameron Park Zoo. This multiuse walking and jogging trail passes underneath the Waco Suspension Bridge and captures the peaceful charm of the river.[66]Lake Waco is a reservoir along the western border of the city.
Waco has a council-manager form of government. Citizens are represented on the City Council by six elected members; five from single-member districts and a mayor who is elected at-large.[69] The city offers a full line of city services typical of an American city this size, including: police, fire, Waco Transit buses, electric utilities, water and wastewater, solid waste, and the Waco Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The Heart of Texas Council of Governments is headquartered in Waco on South New Road. This regional agency is a voluntary association of cities, counties, and special districts in the Central Texas area.
Though the rest of McLennan County is deeply Republican, in statewide elections, Waco is a swing city. It voted for Republican Donald Trump in 2016, but flipped to Joe Biden in 2020.
The major daily newspaper is the Waco Tribune-Herald. Other publications include The Waco Citizen, The Anchor News, The Baylor Lariat, Tiempo, Wacoan, and Waco Today Magazine.
The Waco television market (shared with the Killeen/Temple and Bryan/College Station areas) is the 89th-largest television market in the US and includes these stations:[76]
Interstate 35 is the major north–south highway serving Waco. It directly connects the city with Dallas (I-35E), Fort Worth (I-35W), Austin, and San Antonio. Texas State Highway 6 runs northwest–southeast and connects Waco to Bryan/College Station and Houston. US Highway 84 is the major east–west thoroughfare in the area. It is also known as Waco Drive, Bellmead Drive (as it passes through the city of Bellmead), Woodway Drive or the George W. Bush Parkway. Loop 340 bypasses the city to the east and south. State Highway 31 splits off US 84 just east of Waco and connects the city to Tyler, Longview, and Shreveport, Louisiana.
The first traffic circle in Texas was constructed in Waco in 1933 at the intersections of US 81 and US 77.[77] It was later expanded to include intersections with Valley Mills Dr. and La Salle Ave. Drivers were confused and upset by the circle when it was first constructed, which even led to lawsuits. In 2013 a lone star was added to the center of the circle. Lane markings and new signage were added in 2018 to improve traffic flow and to help guide drivers.[78]
The Waco area is home to three airports. Waco Regional Airport (ACT) serves the city with daily flights to Dallas/Fort Worth International via American Eagle. TSTC Waco Airport (CNW) is the site of the former James Connally AFB and was the primary fly-in point for former President George W. Bush when he was visiting his ranch in Crawford. It also serves as a hub airport for L3 and several other aviation companies. McGregor Executive Airport (PWG) is a general-aviation facility west of Waco.
Local transportation is provided by the Waco Transit System, which offers bus service Monday–Saturday to most of the city. Nearby passenger train service is offered via Amtrak. The Texas Eagle route includes daily stops in McGregor, 20 miles west of the city.
Jules Bledsoe, stage and screen actor and singer. When the Broadway premiere of Show Boat was delayed in 1927 by Ziegfeld, Paul Robeson became unavailable, so Bledsoe stepped in. He played and sang the role of Joe, introducing "Ol' Man River"[107]
Chip and Joanna Gaines, Waco area home renovators and remodelers came to national attention with their TV show Fixer Upper. They have since expanded into a variety of local developments, including Magnolia Market, Hotel 1928 and are a major tourism draw for the Waco area
Peri Gilpin, actress, best known for her television character Roz Doyle on the series Frasier, was born in Waco and raised in Dallas[109]
Texas Guinan, Hollywood actress from 1917 to 1933. She was active in vaudeville and theater, and was in many movies (often as the gun-toting hero in silent westerns, more than a match for any man). She also had a successful career as a hostess in nightclubs and speakeasies in New York City[110]
Anne Gwynne, Hollywood actress who starred in a number of films of the 1940s; she was born in Waco
Joe Barton, former US congressman representing Texas's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1985 to 2019, was born and reared in Waco[134]
Lyndon Lowell Olson Jr., former U.S. Ambassador to Sweden under President Bill Clinton, was born and raised in Waco
William R. Poage, US Congressman who represented Texas's 11th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1937 to 1978, was born in Waco
Pete Sessions, US congressman who represented Texas's 32nd and 5th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1997 to 2019, was born and raised in Waco
Ralph Sheffield, member of the Texas House of Representatives from Bell County and restaurateur in Temple, was born in Waco in 1955[137]
Shawn Achor, born in Waco, is a best-selling author of The Happiness Advantage. He was featured on Oprah Winfrey's Super Soul Sunday. He also co-authored a best-selling children's book with his sister Amy Blankson called How to Make a Shark Smile.
Tony Castro, bestselling author of several books and syndicated columnist, was born in Waco. He graduated from Baylor University and was a Nieman Fellow at Harvard
Hallie Earle (1880–1963) was the first licensed female physician in Waco, a 1902 M.S. from Baylor, and the only female graduate of 1907 Baylor University Medical School in Dallas
Heloise, of the "Hints from Heloise" column, was born in Waco. Her column addresses lifestyle hints, including consumer issues, pets, travel, food, home improvement, health, and much more
Allene Jeanes (1906–1995), a chemical engineer whose work included the development of Dextran and Xanthan gum, was born in Waco and received her bachelor's degree from Baylor University in 1928
Reh Jones, born in Waco, American YouTube personality, owner, producer
Vivienne Malone-Mayes, Waco-born mathematician, the first African-American faculty member of Baylor University who developed novel methods of teaching mathematics
C. Wright Mills, born in Waco, was a sociologist. Among other topics, he was concerned with the responsibilities of intellectuals in post-World War II society, and advocated relevance and engagement over disinterested academic observation
Mark W. Muesse, born in Waco, is a philosopher and author
^Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places of 50,000 or More, Ranked by July 1, 2023 Population: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023 (SUB-IP-EST2023-ANNRNK)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division
Release Date: May 2023
^Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Incorporated Places of 50,000 or More, Ranked by July 1, 2022 Population: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023 (SUB-IP-EST2023-ANNRNK)
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Population Division
Release Date: May 2024
^Annual and Cumulative Estimates of Resident Population Change for Metropolitan Statistical Areas in the United States and Puerto Rico and Metropolitan Statistical Area Rankings: April 1, 2020, to July 1, 2023 (CBSA-MET-EST2023-CHG)
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