The rapid rise of migrant labor in Texas in the 1940s brought large numbers of laborers to Waco. To accommodate this new situation, the city of Waco acquired funds to build the Waco Farm Labor Camp, a center where workers could stay and receive aid while following the crops. Although the camp was only in operation for about twenty years, it had a long-lasting impact on the Waco community.

The Bracero Program, a program through which American farmers in need of laborers could hire Mexican workers in need of a job, began in 1942 due to a decrease in available American farm labor caused by World War II. Although Texas was initially excluded from this program due to its history of discrimination against Mexican immigrants, the “Bracero Ban” was lifted in 1946, and Texas became one of the first stops workers would make as they followed work across the United States.

Waco quickly became a hub for migrant workers because of its cotton crops. As more and more workers came into Waco, the McLennan County Farm Bureau, the Texas Employment Commission, Texas Agri-Life Extension, and the Waco Chamber of Commerce came together to provide them with resources and a place to stay. The Chamber of Commerce began raising funds in 1946, and the new farm labor center was built by the next harvest season.

Initially, the camp consisted of a large Quonset hut on the corner of 3rd Street and Marlborough (now Bosque) Avenue. It accommodated about 100 workers, providing housing, showers, first aid supplies, and other support. However, due to its frequent use and the number of families that came into town every harvest, the facility was quickly expanded in 1947. Along with the services provided at the camp, volunteer organizations such as Church Women United in Waco worked to supply laborers with food, a nursery, a kindergarten, immunizations, and other services.

Aside from its primary function, the camp also became a home for other farm support services. It housed the McLennan County Farm Bureau’s income tax office and often hosted 4-H and FFA (Future Farmers of America) events and livestock shows. It also served as a meeting place, where local farmers could come to recruit laborers and workers could come when they needed a job.

The center was renovated and expanded in 1957. It grew to accommodate up to 400 workers in a season. It continued to be a hub for agricultural activity in Waco until the 1960s. In 1964, the government discontinued the Bracero Program, and Waco no longer needed a labor center. Its use slowly decreased, and the city finally demolished it and built a new health center in its place during Urban Renewal. The site of the labor camp is now home to the Waco-McLennan County Public Health District.

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The Watson Feed Store is an inseparable part of downtown Mart. Built over 100 years ago, it still stands proudly at its place along Texas Avenue. In 1903, Ruff Watson moved to Mart and purchased property in the middle of town. He constructed a building on the site and in 1906, the R. Watson Feed Store opened for business.

From the beginning, the building was more than just a place to buy feed. Watson sold a variety of products, from livestock and paint, to home appliances and flour. The business was one of seven approved to sell Purina products in the state of Texas. He also operated other businesses in the same building as the feed store, including slaughter and butcher shops as well as a leather goods store.

Ruff Watson was not only a businessman, but also an ambitious farmer. Money he earned from farming went back into the Feed Store business and vice versa. Mart was a railroad stop between Fort Worth and Houston, and Watson took full advantage of the railroad tracks which crisscrossed through town. During the years of the Great Depression, he purchased a corn sheller and a mill at the edge of the tracks. This addition brought people from miles around to Mart and the Feed Store. He also used the railways to ship crops he purchased from other farmers, such as corn, wheat and oats, selling them to other areas of the state. When the railroads became too unreliable, Watson switched to hauling crops to Fort Worth via trucks and even, at times, horse-pulled wagon.

The Feed Store, with its central location downtown, drew members of the Mart community as a place to congregate, chat, and catch-up with neighbors. During election years, local politicians used the store as a central meeting place to campaign. There was a dance hall in the upstairs of the building, and the Railroad Brotherhood and other fraternal organizations used this space for meetings. Watson even sold barbecue at the back of the store on Saturdays as a way to use up any leftovers from the butcher shop.

The Feed Store has always been a family business, and when Watson’s sons, Murray and Orlette, came of age, they worked alongside their father. Murray’s son, Murray Watson Jr., began helping at the store as a child, going every day after school to work with his grandfather. In 1940, Murray Watson Sr. bought out his father and brother, renaming the business, the Watson Feed Store. Ruff Watson died ten years later in 1950. Murray Watson Sr. continued to own and operate the Feed Store, working there almost every day until his death in 1990.

Murray Watson Jr. assumed ownership of the store until he passed away in 2018. In 2003, the Watson Feed Store was honored with its own Texas Historical Marker. The store remains much the same as it did over 100 years ago. For the community of Mart, the Watson Feed Store is much more than just a place to buy corn and birdseed. It is a significant part of their town history, a place to go for a friendly smile and a dose of daily gossip, and a reminder that the small town principles of neighborly kindness and kinship still exist.

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For nearly half a century, cotton reigned as king of Waco's economy, establishing the once small frontier town as a thriving urban center known throughout the country.

The area later named Waco held a long history of agricultural pursuits tracing back to the Waco Indians' farming of crops such as melons, pumpkins, lima beans, and corn. Cotton farming and plantation culture arrived in Waco along with the first white settlers of McLennan County. Initially hesitant to plant crops in the black soil found in Central Texas, these settlers soon found the alluvial soil of the Brazos Valley and blackland prairie ideal for growing cotton.

Prior to the Civil War, cotton production in McLennan County remained relatively small. Without a means to transport the product with ease throughout the country, there was little reason to produce large amounts of cotton. Additionally, although farmers sought to recreate southern plantation life in Waco, legal restrictions placed on the number of slaves a landlord could bring into Texas prevented large-scale plantations from developing.

Cotton production slowed with the dawn of the Civil War as most Wacoans, supporting secession, left to fight. The price of cotton fell and shipments to Europe stopped completely when the Union blocked established trade routes out of the South. Yet this setback ultimately turned into Waco's first step toward industrialization when, during his search to secure passage for the crop, John Baylis Earle acquired equipment for a cotton mill in England, disassembled it, and smuggled it into Waco via Mexico. The new mill freed up considerable time for women who had previously spent hours sewing and spinning cotton.

The defeat of the South in 1865 and subsequent emancipation of slaves completely restructured plantation life. Although some freedmen left Waco, many remained in the area in altered relationships with their former owners. The large number of people desiring to farm a limited amount of land led to a new hierarchy. Unable to pay all of their former slaves a fair wage, landowners rented pieces of land to tenants and sharecroppers in exchange for a portion of the crop and profit at the end of the growing season.

The cotton industry industrialized and grew considerably in Waco during this period immediately following the Civil War. The construction of the Waco Suspension Bridge and arrival of the Waco Tap Railroad in 1870 increased the number of people and goods entering and departing the city. Waco's cotton market boomed, and by 1885, the city became known as the largest inland cotton market in Texas. When a second railroad connection arrived, it was named the Cotton Belt Route in honor of the large market to which it primarily catered.

Life in Waco came to revolve around the crop which had earned the town the name of King Cotton. Bankers loaned money against cotton crops, and the city economy boomed along with farmers' prosperity. Brokers from other states and nations opened offices in the city. Each fall, farmers from the surrounding counties arrived in the town square at daybreak to display bales for classification and sale. In 1894, the city instituted the grand annual festival named the Cotton Palace Exposition in order to honor and celebrate the central role of the crop in the local economy.

By the turn of the twentieth century, however, the cotton industry reached its peak and was already beginning a steady decline, largely due to the diversification of agriculture as well as the depletion of soil nutrients. Although no longer the enormous market force it once represented, cotton continued to play an important role in Waco's economy throughout the twentieth century, with small numbers of farmers growing cotton and local merchants continuing to offer rewards for the first bale of cotton each season. Today, small cotton farms can be seen in the countryside surrounding the city, and the legacy of the crop which once made Waco a center of the South is visible in landmarks around town such as Cottonland Castle, the silos of the old cotton oil mill, and the site of the Texas Cotton Palace.

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In the early 1950s, McLennan County voters approved a $1.2 million bond towards the construction of a new agricultural and entertainment venue. Contractors Farnsworth and Chambers of Houston, Texas, worked alongside local architect Harris H. Roberts to design a fair-ground and coliseum that could house a yearly exposition that would recall the glory of the Texas Cotton Palace. Although cotton was no longer king, the exposition was intended to “serve as a showplace for the finest yields of the soil” and the “best” of the region’s livestock. Echoing sentiments expressed by his Cotton Palace predecessors, Waco Mayor Ralph Wood hoped that the fair would “be an inspiration to lead to still greater progress and prosperity” within the region.

Though the original plans for the grounds had to be slightly scaled back due to the advent of the Korean War and ensuing labor and material shortages, the grandiose vision of fair organizers was largely realized. Totaling 253 acres, the fairgrounds were the largest of their kind west of the Mississippi. Additionally, upon its completion in 1953, the coliseum boasted the largest indoor arena in the state and was the second largest coliseum in Texas, measuring 366½ feet long and 246½ feet wide.

The coliseum (and fair by extension) found its name through a nationwide contest. Fair organizers received five thousand entries from not only Texan hopefuls but individuals in such faraway states as South Carolina, California, and New Mexico. The winning submission, “Heart O’ Texas Coliseum,” came from Mrs. John Cousins of McGregor, Texas. She received $100 in prize money for her effort.

For those seeking a return to the glory days of the Texas Cotton Palace exposition, the inaugural 1953 Heart O’ Texas Fair and Rodeo did not disappoint. Regional livestock and produce took pride of place in the fair’s multiple exhibition tents. The Women’s Division presented the best Central Texas had to offer by way of handicrafts, baked goods, and preserves. Renowned rodeo producer Tommy Steiner oversaw such popular events as trick riding and steer wrestling in the main arena. Other notable fair attractions included: a special military display featuring miniatures of the aircraft carriers the U. S. S. Alamo and U. S. S. Shangri-La, a Texas wildlife display, fireworks, and a performance by the King of Rock and Roll himself, Elvis Presley.

Although the first half of the twentieth century was not kind to the Texas Cotton Palace, its latter half saw the Heart O’ Texas Fair and Rodeo flourish via outside accolades and civic investment. In 1974, the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) named the Heart O’ Texas Fair and Rodeo one of its top rodeos, a high honor indeed for Waco and McLennan County. Steady attendance records and continued community support also made possible a $20 million dollar face-lift to the coliseum and the renovation of its adjacent buildings in 1996. The Show Pavilion also received necessary upgrades in 2000. 

The Heart O’ Texas Fair and Rodeo introduced a scholarship program in 1991. Initially, nineteen $100 scholarships were awarded to a single student from each of McLennan County’s high schools. As the program progressed, the amount of financial aid available to deserving students increased. In 2013, the Heart O’ Texas Fair and Rodeo Scholarship Fund awarded $40,000 to the youths of McLennan County with an additional $5,000 given to two worthy students as part of the 4-H Youth Development Foundation Awards Program.

The Heart O’ Texas Fair and Rodeo has proven itself to be a worthy successor of the Texas Cotton Palace exposition due to its showcasing of Central Texas culture and commerce.

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The city of Waco derives its name from the agrarian indigenous group that originally resided in the area. The Waco, or Wi-iko, Indians were a tribe of the Wichita that arrived in Central Texas in the 1700s. The tribe’s early history is difficult to establish because of a lack of written records due to their oral tradition. Spanish settlers first wrote of an encounter with the Waco Indians in 1772, when Athanase de Mésière noticed two villages during his trek up the Brazos River.

Life in Waco Indian Village centered upon the tribe’s agrarian pursuits. The Wacos farmed crops such as melons, pumpkins, lima beans, and corn. During planting and harvesting seasons, they resided in their permanent village, which consisted of beehive-shaped dwellings that were constructed from poles and thatched with grasses and willow. After harvesting the crops in the fall, the Waco Indians traveled the plains, hunting deer and buffalo in order to feed the tribe. While hunting, they lived in makeshift, temporary teepees.

Tensions rose as more white settlers arrived in the area in the early nineteenth century. As settlers encroached upon their land, the Wacos raided white settlements, often stealing horses and occasionally murdering settlers. Stephen F. Austin wanted to attack the village in order to establish a colony and prevent further raids, but the Mexican government denied this request. In 1824, Austin sent a delegation to meet with the Wacos and, after some negotiation, established a peace treaty.

Some accounts say that a band of Cherokee from East Texas raided the Waco Indian Village in 1829 in order to avenge some stolen horses. Others tell of a smallpox epidemic which devastated the village. Although it is not clear if these accounts speak specifically of this native settlement, it is known that a permanent Waco Indian village no longer existed upon the Brazos River after 1830. The loss of the village dealt a serious blow to the Waco Indians. Encroaching settlers forced them to move slowly farther and farther up the Brazos River.

The tribe signed several treaties in the mid-nineteenth century with the US government. Each treaty referred to the Waco, Tawakoni, and Wichita people by the name “Wichita.” The first treaty gathered the Wichita at the Brazos Indian Reservation in North Texas, on the Brazos River, a few miles south of Fort Belknap. After a treaty in 1859, federal troops moved the Wichita to a reservation in Indian Territory in present-day Oklahoma. In 1900, the government broke up the reservation territory into individual plots, ending the Wichita Indians’ communal way of life.

The Waco Indians became a part of the Wichita and Affiliated Tribes and continued to reside in Anadarko, Oklahoma. In 1912, Clint Padgitt brought a group of the Waco Indians back to Waco in order to participate in an exhibition at the Texas Cotton Palace Exposition. Escorted by Indian fighter John Ross, the Waco Indians resided in a fabricated village, exciting much interest and drawing record crowds. They lived in teepees, did war dances taught to them at the beginning of the exposition, and wore native “costumes,” curious combinations of modern and native clothing.

Today, the Waco Indians continue to reside in Oklahoma. Several tribal leaders returned to visit Waco in 2014 for the rededication and correction of the historical marker commemorating the location of the Waco Indian Village. Waco city leaders and historians cite this visit as a start to developing a better relationship with the people who originally inhabited this area and from which the city draws its name. Wichita leaders believed that restoring connections with Waco was an important step in rediscovering the tribe’s roots. 

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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 first few decades of the twentieth century, King Cotton retained its sovereignty over the agricultural landscape of the Lone Star State. In an effort to recognize the importance of this cash crop to its livelihood, Waco stylized itself as the Cotton Capital of the South, and its leading citizens organized an exhibition intended to celebrate the end of the growing season and cotton’s central role in the state’s economy.

The first exposition of the Texas Cotton Palace was held in November of 1894. The activities lasted a month, and it seemed that the Cotton Palace would become a permanent yearly fixture in Waco’s social calendar. Unfortunately, tragedy soon struck. In January of 1895, just a few months after the first celebration, a terrible fire damaged the Cotton Palace. The exhibition hall at Padgitt Park burned down, and the rest of the grounds were left badly damaged. The Texas Cotton Palace would not see further festivities for fifteen years.

The Cotton Palace reopened in 1910. The 1910 exposition was housed on a triangular-shaped twelve-acre lot surrounded by Clay Avenue, Dutton Avenue, and South Sixteenth Street. The Cotton Palace’s facilities were designed to be both eye-catching and practical. The main building had a central dome done in a striking palatial style, and the coliseum was capable of seating ten thousand people. The grounds featured automobile, poultry, floral, and machinery buildings with diverse exhibits. These permanent buildings were augmented by a racetrack, barns, and carnival grounds known as the War Path that included a Ferris wheel and a wooden roller coaster.

Cotton Palace organizers desired to provide entertainment that would appeal to people of varied age groups and backgrounds. Activities at the two-week-long exposition at the Cotton Palace included better baby contests, horse and automobile races, as well as canning, baking, and needlework competitions. Among the exhibits were farm products and manufactured goods from across Texas and neighboring states. In order to draw in more crowds, forty acres of park space and an athletic field with an eighteen thousand seat capacity were added to the original grounds. Perhaps the major events of the exposition were the coronation of the Cotton Palace Queen at the Cotton Palace Ball, a lavish gala attended by dignitaries and debutantes alike.

  The Cotton Palace had a role on the home front during World War I, devoting several buildings to the war effort. For instance, one building was used to display a captured German biplane, along with other items of weaponry and equipment such as artillery pieces and shells. A record number of 547,242 people attended the exposition in 1918, although this record was likely due more to the patronage of personnel from Camp MacArthur than the appeal of war-themed attractions.

Twenty years after the reopening of the Texas Cotton Palace, the exposition came to an end for good in 1930 upon the decline of the cotton market and the economic crisis brought on by the Great Depression. In the early 1970s, however, the Waco Cotton Palace Pageant was created to keep the tradition alive.

The Texas Cotton Palace was very much one of the major landmarks and attractions for not only Waco but also for the Lone Star State. This two-week-long exposition provided a memorable experience for pleasure seekers and the subjects of King Cotton alike.

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