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HistoryImage:Mcclennan courthouse.jpg McLennan County Courthouse
1824-1865
Image:Wacocity.jpg Downtown Waco Neil McLennan settled in an area near the South Bosque River in 1838. Jacob De Cordova bought McLennan's property and hired a former Texas Ranger and surveyor named George B. Erath to inspect the area. 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, in honor of the Native Americans who had lived there. 1866-1900In 1866, the city embarked on an ambitious project to build the first bridge to span the wide Brazos River. They contacted an architectural firm owned by John Augustus Roebling in Trenton, New Jersey to build the 475-foot brick Waco Suspension Bridge, the longest span of any bridge west of the Mississippi River at the time of its completion in 1870. Because it was one of the first suspension bridges built in the United States, it also was a pioneering engineering feat of the era. The bridge was used as a working prototype for Roebling's later famous work, the Brooklyn Bridge. The economic effects of the bridge were immediate and large, attracting cattle runs from the nearby Chisholm Trail and increasing the population of the city, as immigrants now had a safe passage for their horse drawn carriages to cross the river. The bridge is now open only to pedestrian traffic. 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. TCU was offered a 50-acre campus and $200,000 by the city of Fort Worth to relocate there.
Image:Dr Pepper Museum.jpg The Dr Pepper Museum is one of Waco's tourist attractions. In 1885, the soft drink Dr Pepper was invented in Waco at Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store. In 1845, Baylor University was founded in Independence, Texas, making it the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of 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 were moved to the new Mayborn Museum Complex. In the 1890s, William Cowper Brann published the highly successful Iconoclast newspaper in Waco. One of his targets was Baylor University. Brann revealed that Baylor officials had been importing 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 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 became 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 to the present day, hosted in late April in conjunction with the Brazos River Festival.
1901-PresentDuring World War I, Waco was the site of two major Army bases, Camp McArthur and Rich Field. In 1923, the Texas Legislature created the Tenth Civil Court of Appeals and placed it in Waco. Today it is 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 later become known as the soft drink Big Red. On May 11, 1953, a tornado hit downtown Waco, killing 114. As of 2007, it remains the tenth deadliest tornado in U.S. history and tied for the deadliest in Texas state history.[2] 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. In 1978, bones were discovered emerging from the mud at the confluence of the Brazos River and the Bosque River. Subsequent excavations revealed that the bones were 28,000 years old and belonged to a species of mammoth. Eventually, the remains of at least 28 mammoths were found at the site, making it one of the largest findings of its kind in the world. Scholars have puzzled over why such a large herd had been killed all at once. On April 19, 1993 a standoff between FBI agents and Branch Davidians ended in a fire that destroyed their compound located in Mt. Carmel, near Waco. Seventy-four people, including leader David Koresh, died in the blaze. In 1999, a charter school called the Emma L. Harrison Charter School was closed by the Texas Education Agency; the school was the first charter school which had its charter revoked in Texas [3]. Since the 2000 presidential election, Waco has been home to the various news bureaus covering the Western White House in Crawford, home of US President George W. Bush. Crawford is an outlying McLennan County community about 20 miles west of Waco. Geography and ClimateWaco is located at 31°33'5" North, 97°9'21" West (31.551516, -97.155930)GR1. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 247.4 km² (95.5 mi²). 218.1 km² (84.2 mi²) of it is land and 29.3 km² (11.3 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 11.85% water.
DemographicsAs of the censusGR2 of 2000, there are 113,726 people in the city, organized into 42,279 households and 24,775 families. The population density is 521.5/km² (1,350.6/mi²). There are 45,819 housing units at an average density of 210.1/km² (544.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city is 60.78% White, 22.65% African American, 1.38% Asian, 0.51% Native American, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 12.38% from other races, and 2.26% from two or more races. 23.64% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race. There are 42,279 households out of which 29.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.4% are married couples living together, 16.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% are non-families. 31.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.49 and the average family size is 3.19. In the city the population is spread out with 25.4% 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 are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 28 years. For every 100 females there are 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.3 males. The median income for a household in the city is $26,264, and the median income for a family is $33,919. Males have a median income of $26,902 versus $21,159 for females. The per capita income for the city is $14,584. 26.3% of the population and 19.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 30.9% of those under the age of 18 and 13.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line. EducationColleges and Universities: AttractionsMajor Waco attractions include:
See also: Neighborhoods of Waco The local newspaper is the Waco Tribune-Herald. Professional sportsThe American Basketball Association has announced an expansion franchise for the 2006-2007 season, the Waco Wranglers. The team is scheduled to begin play in November 2006 at Reicher Catholic High School. The team practices at Texas State Technical College. 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. 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 in 1905 to the Navigators, and later to the Steers. In 1920, the team was sold to Wichita Falls. In 1923, a new franchise called the Indians was formed in Waco and was a member of the Class D 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 generously 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. 1930 was the last year that Waco had a team in the Texas League, but Waco fielded some strong semi-pro teams in the 1930s and early 1940s. During the World War II years of 1943-45, 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 1947, the Class B Big State League was organized with Waco as a member called The Waco Dons. In 1948, A.H. Kirksey, owner of Katy Park, persuaded the Pittsburgh Pirates Professional 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, .197 club in 1952. This mark ranks as one of the 10 worst marks of any 20th century full-season team. On May 11, 1953, the Waco Tornado struck Waco, killing 114 people and destroying a large part of the city, including Katy Park. The team relocated to Longview to finish the season and finished a respectable third with a 77-68 record. People with Waco tiesSee also: Baylor University: Notable Alumni Sports
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