Why Waco
Waco is a Texan city located in McLennan County along the Brazos River and Interstate 35, positioned roughly halfway between Dallas and Austin. Serving as the seat of its county, the city encompasses an area of 95.5 square miles, over eleven percent of which is water. Its skyline is highlighted by the 22-story ALICO Building, which was completed in 1910 and stands as the tallest structure in the city. Waco experiences a humid subtropical climate marked by hot summers and generally mild winters, though temperatures of 90 degrees Fahrenheit have occurred in every month of the year.
Indigenous groups inhabited the riverbanks for thousands of years prior to European settlement, with the area historically occupied by the Waco, a tribe of the Wichita nation. A formal treaty was reached with the tribe in 1825, though later incursions by the Cherokee eventually displaced them from the region. Settlement by newcomers picked up in the mid-19th century, leading surveyor George B. Erath to lay out the town's initial block in 1849. The city grew rapidly after the completion of the brick Waco Suspension Bridge in 1870, a 475-foot span designed to cross the Brazos River that served drovers along the Chisholm Trail as well as horse-drawn wagons. In 1885, the soft drink Dr Pepper was created locally at Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store, and the town also saw the later creation of Big Red soft drink in 1937.
Visitors to Waco can explore a variety of historic and cultural sites. The historic Waco Suspension Bridge remains a central landmark, preserved for pedestrian traffic and listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The city is home to Baylor University, which relocated to the area in 1886 and now houses the Mayborn Museum Complex, incorporating collections from the historic Strecker Museum. History enthusiasts can also visit the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, which is the official state-designated repository dedicated to the law enforcement organization. Nearby, the Waco Mammoth National Monument protects a significant archaeological finding from 1978 where 68,000-year-old fossilized remains of 24 mammoths, a camel, and a large cat were uncovered near the confluence of the Brazos and Bosque rivers.
Cultural traditions in the city include the annual Cotton Palace Pageant, held in late April alongside the Brazos River Festival, celebrating the region's historical cotton farming heritage. Travel into and around the area is facilitated by its position along Interstate 35, and local aviation facilities include the TSTC Waco Airport, situated at the site of the former Connally Air Force Base.
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