Sanger Brothers department stores were often described as the pioneer retail stores of Texas. Yet these successful mercantile ventures arose from humble beginnings. Between 1852 and 1874, five of the seven Sanger brothers immigrated to America from…

Temple Rodef Sholom has the distinction of being McLennan County’s oldest and largest Jewish congregation. Jewish permanent settlers made Waco their home in the mid-nineteenth century. For many years no organized congregation existed; however,…

When Stephen F. Austin led the first Anglo-American settlers into Texas including areas along the Brazos River, they brought with them their strong agricultural tradition based on cotton-growing. From the period of annexation until well into the…