All Tours: 11

Houses of Worship

10 Locations ~ Curated by Baylor University Institute for Oral History & The Texas Collection
The term ‘Bible-Belt’ is sometimes used to describe the religious landscape of Central Texas. However, to characterize Waco as a community full of carbon-copy churches is to do a disservice to the heterogeneous character of the houses of worship…

Heart O' Texas Foodways

12 Locations ~ Curated by Baylor University Institute for Oral History & The Texas Collection
Situated in the Heart of Texas, Waco’s food services reflect the diverse eating habits and culinary practices of the state at large. As far as regional fare is concerned, diners have their pick of establishments that serve everything from standards…

Athens of Texas

4 Locations ~ Curated by Baylor University Institute for Oral History & The Texas Collection
Once a small frontier town on the banks of the Brazos River, Waco developed into a thriving commercial center of Texas near the end of the nineteenth century. As the population grew, the city became known as a leader in education because of the…

Cotton

5 Locations ~ Curated by Baylor University Institute for Oral History & The Texas Collection
Chartered in 1856, Waco began as a tiny frontier town on the banks of a river which was often too volatile to cross. Despite its dangers, the river served as an ideal water source for farming. The cotton industry developed as farmers realized the…

Brazos River

10 Locations ~ Curated by Baylor University Institute for Oral History & The Texas Collection
Providing a constant water supply, means of transportation, and fertile farming ground, but also serving as a site of frequent flooding, the Brazos River shaped the story of the communities which grew upon its banks. Throughout history, it has proven…

Historic Homes

7 Locations ~ Curated by Baylor University Institute for Oral History & The Texas Collection
Since Ann Pamela Cunningham rallied the help of women throughout America to save George Washington’s Mount Vernon from ruin and neglect in the mid-nineteenth century, Americans set about preserving historic homes in their own backyards as windows the…

African American History

30 Locations ~ Curated by Baylor University Institute for Oral History & The Texas Collection
African Americans have held a central role in the development of Waco and McLennan County since the first permanent settlements were established in the mid-nineteenth century. The first black residents came to Central Texas primarily as slaves to…

Historic Castle Heights Tour

7 Locations ~ Curated by The Waco History Team
Castle Heights has an unusually strong identity as a neighborhood. The construction of the earliest homes, circa 1888, lied outside Waco city limits, and when developers plotted the neighborhood in 1923, they expected it to serve as an elite…

Latino History Tour

10 Locations ~ Curated by The Waco History Team
Waco’s Latino History far predates the city itself. The land of Central Texas once belonged to the Spanish empire, and then Mexico, until Texas fought for its independence in 1836. After almost another decade of struggle, Texas joined the United…

Waco Tornado 1953

8 Locations ~ Curated by The Waco History Team
On May 11, 1953, a destructive force tore through Waco and forever altered the face of the city. The tornado injured 600 people, took 114 lives, and damaged hundreds of businesses. Around 4:30, a tornado touched down southwest of Waco and tore…

Women's History

14 Locations ~ Curated by The Waco History Team
It may be said that all history is women’s history, and the history of Waco is no exception. Indigenous women populated this area along the Brazos before European settlers arrived. At its founding, women like Mrs. Sophia St. John contributed land…