Random Stories
Kitok Restaurant
Over the past forty years, Kitok Restaurant has gone from a humble diner to a local institution, known for its blend of American and Korean fare. But when it first opened in 1975, owner Kitok Moore stuck to diner classics and hesitated calling her…
Tidwell Bible Building
Tidwell Bible Building stands as a physical memorial not only to the formation of Baylor’s modern Department of Religion, but also as a symbol of the university’s dedication to Christian ideals.
Prior to 1910, Baylor’s Bible Department offered…
Gladys Allen
Efforts of civic leaders in the late nineteenth century to provide greater educational opportunities established Waco as the “Athens of Texas.” This reputation was later preserved in the early to mid-twentieth century through the dedication of…
L. L. Sams and Sons
Though L. L. Sams and Sons became one of the nation’s largest and most popular church furniture suppliers in the twentieth century, it developed from humble beginnings. Rev. L. L. Sams, a traveling Baptist preacher, desired to build a church for his…
Richard D. (R.D.) Evans
Long before President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, attorney Richard D. (R.D.) Evans waged the fight for civil rights from his Waco law office. As Waco’s first African American attorney, he became one of the most…
Tonkawa Falls
Crawford, Texas, is home to the beautiful Tonkawa Falls, drawing visitors and locals alike for recreational activities and fun each year. The falls are named after the Tonkawa Indians who inhabited the area for centuries before the arrival of white…
Featured Stories
The Liberty Building Explosion
Shortly after the 1936 flood waters had receded and cleanup was well under way, disaster struck Waco again. On October 4, the Liberty Building on Austin Avenue and Sixth Street exploded, fatally wounding 65-year-old janitor Warren Moore and causing…
ALICO Center
In the mid-twentieth century, Waco underwent major changes through the federally funded Urban Renewal Agency of Waco. Areas impacted included numerous city blocks between LaSalle Avenue and Waco Drive. The project greatly affected the city’s people,…
Lovers' Leap
A picturesque limestone bluff situated high above the Bosque River, Lovers’ Leap is as dangerous as it is beautiful.
On June 28, 1917, the Cameron family purchased a tract of sixty acres featuring the cliff area known as Lovers’ Leap. Though it had…
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African American History
30 Locations ~ Curated by Baylor University Institute for Oral History & The Texas CollectionAthens of Texas
4 Locations ~ Curated by Baylor University Institute for Oral History & The Texas CollectionHistoric Homes
7 Locations ~ Curated by Baylor University Institute for Oral History & The Texas CollectionHeart O' Texas Foodways
12 Locations ~ Curated by Baylor University Institute for Oral History & The Texas CollectionWaco History Podcast
Dr. Stephen Sloan of Baylor’s Institute for Oral History talks with others about Waco’s known and unknown past. This is the Waco History Podcast.
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