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Waco, Texas
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Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. The city has a 2007 estimated total population of 122,222. It is the 26th largest city by population in Texas, and 195th in the US. The Waco Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of McLennan County and has a population of 228,123.
1824-1865
Prior to the founding of the town, a Wichita Native American group known as the "Waco" or "Hueco" lived on the land of contemporary downtown Waco west of the Brazos River.
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Encyclopedia
Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas. The city has a 2007 estimated total population of 122,222. It is the 26th largest city by population in Texas, and 195th in the US. The Waco Metropolitan Statistical Area consists of McLennan County and has a population of 228,123.
History
1824-1865
Prior to the founding of the town, a Wichita Native American group known as the "Waco" or "Hueco" lived on the land of contemporary downtown Waco west of the Brazos River. In 1824, on an expedition to the Waco village, Thomas M. Duke reported the following to Stephen F. Austin: "This town is situated on the West Bank of the River about half a mile from the River. They have a spring almost as cold as ice itself. All we want is some Brandy and Sugar to have Ice Toddy. They have about four hundred acres planted in corn, beans, pumpkins, and melons and that tended in good order. I think they cannot raise more than One Hundred Warriors." After Austin aborted the first attempt to destroy their village in 1825, he made a treaty with them. The Wacos were soon forced to abandon their village due to an invasion in 1830 by the Cherokee (who had been pushed westward in previous decades by colonization), and they moved upstream to what is now Palo Pinto County (west of Fort Worth).
Neil McLennan settled in an area near the South Bosque River in 1838. Jacob De Cordova bought McLennan's property and hired a former Texas Ranger and surveyor named George B. Erath to inspect the area. In 1849, Erath designed the first block of the city. Property owners wanted to name the city Lamartine, but Erath convinced them to name the area Waco Village, in honor of the Native Americans who had lived there. In March 1849, Shapley Ross built the first house in Waco, a double-log cabin on a bluff overlooking the springs. His daughter Kate soon became the first white child to be born in Waco.
1866-1900
In 1866, Waco's leading citizens embarked on an ambitious project to build the first bridge to span the wide Brazos River. They formed the Waco Bridge Company to build the brick Waco Suspension Bridge, which was called the longest span of any bridge west of the Mississippi River when completed in 1870. The company commissioned a firm owned by John Augustus Roebling in Trenton, New Jersey to supply the cables and steelwork for the bridge, which was a pioneering engineering feat of the era. Roebling's firm began work on the Brooklyn Bridge in 1870.
The economic effects of the Waco bridge were immediate and large, attracting cattle runs from the nearby Chisholm Trail and increasing the population of the city, as immigrants now had a safe passage for their horse drawn carriages to cross the river. Since 1971, the bridge is now open only to pedestrian traffic and is on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1873, AddRan College was founded by brothers Addison and Randolph Clark in Fort Worth. The school moved to Waco in 1895, changing its name to Add-Ran Christian University and taking up residence in the empty buildings of Waco Female College. Add-Ran changed its name to Texas Christian University in 1902 and left Waco after the school's main building burned down in 1910. TCU was offered a campus and $200,000 by the city of Fort Worth to relocate there.
In the late 1800s a red light district called the "Reservation" grew up in Waco. Prostitution was regulated by the city. The Reservation was abolished in the early 1900s.
In 1885, the soft drink Dr Pepper was invented in Waco at Morrison's Old Corner Drug Store.
In 1845, Baylor University was founded in Independence, Texas, making it the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of Texas. It moved to Waco in 1886 and merged with Waco University, becoming an integral part of the city. The university's Strecker Museum was also the oldest continuously operating museum in the state until it closed in 2003, and the collections were moved to the new Mayborn Museum Complex.
In the 1890s, William Cowper Brann published the highly successful Iconoclast newspaper in Waco. One of his targets was Baylor University. Brann revealed that Baylor officials had been importing South American children recruited by missionaries and making house-servants out of them. Brann was shot in the back by Tom Davis, a Baylor supporter. Brann wheeled, drew his pistol, and killed Davis. Brann was helped home by his friends, and died there of his wounds.
In 1894, the first Cotton Palace fair and exhibition center was built to reflect the dominant contribution of the agricultural cotton industry in the region. Since the end of the Civil War, cotton had been cultivated in the Brazos and Bosque valleys, and Waco became known nationwide as a top producer. Over the next 23 years, the annual exposition would welcome over eight million attendees. The opulent building which housed the month-long exhibition was destroyed by fire and rebuilt in 1910. In 1931, the exposition fell prey to the Great Depression, and the building was torn down. However, the annual Cotton Palace Pageant continues to the present day, hosted in late April in conjunction with the Brazos River Festival.
On September 15, 1896 "The Crash at Crush" took place about north of Waco. "The Crash at Crush" was a publicity stunt done by the Missouri-Kansas-Texas Railroad company(known as M-K-T or "Katy") featured two locomotives intentionally set on a head-on collision. Meant to be a family fun event with food, games and entertainment, the Crash turned deadly when both boilers exploded simultaneously, sending metal flying in the air. Two people died and six were seriously injured. Waco History Project
1901-present
In 1916, a black teenager named Jesse Washington was mutilated and burned to death on the town square by a mob that seized him from a courthouse, where he had been convicted of murdering a white woman. 15,000 spectators, mostly citizens of Waco, were present. The so-called 'Waco Horror" drew international condemnation and became the cause celebre of the nascent NAACP's anti-lynching campaign. In 2006, the Waco City Council officially condemned the lynching, which took place at City Hall without opposition from local leaders.
In 1923, the Texas Legislature created the Tenth Civil Court of Appeals and placed it in Waco. Today it is known as the 10th Court of Appeals.
In 1937, Grover C. Thomsen and R.H. Roark created a soft-drink called "Sun Tang Red Cream Soda". This would later become known as the soft drink Big Red.
On May 5, 1942, Waco Army Air Field opened as a basic pilot training school and on June 10, 1949, the name was changed to Connally Air Force Base in memory of Col. James T. Connally, a local pilot killed in Japan in 1945. The name changed again in 1951 to the James Connally Air Force Base. The base closed in May, 1966 and is now the location of Texas State Technical College, formerly Texas State Technical Institute, since 1965. The airfield is still in operation and was used by Air Force One when former US President George W. Bush visited his Prairie Chapel Ranch, also known as the Western White House, in Crawford, Texas.
On May 11, 1953, a tornado hit downtown Waco, killing 114. As of 2007, it remains the tenth deadliest tornado in U.S. history and tied for the deadliest in Texas state history. It was the first tornado tracked by radar and helped spur the creation of a nationwide storm surveillance system.
In 1964 the Texas Department of Public Safety designated Waco as the site for the state-designated official museum of the legendary Texas Rangers law enforcement agency founded in 1823. In 1976 it was further designated the official Hall of Fame for the Rangers and renamed the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum. Recent renovations by the Waco government has earned this building green status, the first Waco government lead project of its nature. The construction project has also fallen under scrutiny for expanding the building over unmarked human graves.
In 1978, bones were discovered emerging from the mud at the confluence of the Brazos River and the Bosque River. Subsequent excavations revealed that the bones were 68,000 years old and belonged to a species of mammoth. Eventually, the remains of at least 24 mammoths, one camel, and one large cat were found at the site, making it one of the largest findings of its kind in the world. Scholars have puzzled over why such a large herd had been killed all at once. The site is currently being looked at by the National Park Service for possible inclusion on the National Park system. They are conducting a to be presented to Congress.
On February 28, 1993 there was a shoot out in which six Davidians and four agents of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) died. After 51 days on April 19, 1993 a standoff between FBI agents and Branch Davidians ended in a fire that destroyed their compound located in Mt. Carmel, near Waco. Seventy-four people, including leader David Koresh, died in the blaze.
In 1999, a charter school called the Emma L. Harrison Charter School was closed by the Texas Education Agency; the school was the first charter school which had its charter revoked in Texas.
Rock guitarist and outdoorsman Ted Nugent, who is an enthusiastic bowhunter, resides in Waco and writes a weekly column for the Waco Tribune-Herald. He filmed his MTV show "Surviving Nugent" on his ranch in nearby China Spring, Texas.
During the Presidency of US President George W. Bush, Waco was the home to the White House Press Center. The press center provided briefing and office facilties for the press core when they covered the President's visits to his "Western White House" in Crawford. The Presidents home in Crawford is an outlying McLennan County community about west of Waco.
Geography and climate
Waco is located at 31°33'5" North, 97°9'21" West (31.551516, -97.155930).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 95.5 square miles (247.4 kmē). 84.2 square miles (218.1 kmē) of it is land and 11.3 square miles (29.3 kmē) of it is water. The total area is 11.85% water.
Monthly Normal and Record High and Low Temperatures | Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
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| Rec High °F | 88 | 96 | 100 | 101 | 102 | 109 | 109 | 112 | 111 | 101 | 92 | 91 |
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| Norm High °F | 57 | 62.3 | 70.2 | 77.6 | 84.8 | 92 | 96.7 | 96.9 | 90.1 | 80.4 | 67.8 | 59.1 |
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| Norm Low °F | 35.1 | 39.3 | 46.8 | 54.2 | 63.3 | 70.6 | 74.1 | 73.5 | 67 | 56.7 | 45.8 | 37.5 |
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| Rec Low °F | -5 | 4 | 15 | 27 | 37 | 52 | 60 | 53 | 40 | 25 | 17 | -4 |
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| Precip (in) | 1.9 | 2.43 | 2.48 | 2.99 | 4.46 | 3.08 | 2.23 | 1.85 | 2.88 | 3.67 | 2.61 | 2.76 |
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| Source: USTravelWeather.com |
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 113,726 people in the city, organized into 42,279 households and 24,775 families. The population density is 1,350.6 people per square mile (521.5/kmē). There are 45,819 housing units at an average density of 544.2/sq mi (210.1/kmē). The racial makeup of the city is 60.78% White, 22.65% African American, 1.38% Asian, 0.51% Native American, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 12.38% from other races, and 2.26% from two or more races. 23.64% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 42,279 households out of which 29.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.4% are married couples living together, 16.2% have a female householder with no husband present, and 41.4% are non-families. 31.1% of all households are made up of individuals and 10.9% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.49 and the average family size is 3.19.
In the city the population is spread out with 25.4% under the age of 18, 20.3% from 18 to 24, 25.0% from 25 to 44, 16.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.4% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 28 years. For every 100 females there are 91.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 87.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city is $26,264, and the median income for a family is $33,919. Males have a median income of $26,902 versus $21,159 for females. The per capita income for the city is $14,584. 26.3% of the population and 19.3% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 30.9% of those under the age of 18 and 13.0% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.
Downtown
- See also List of Waco's Neighborhoods
Downtown Waco is small compared to many other Texas cities, such as Houston or Dallas, or even San Antonio, Fort Worth, El Paso or Austin. However, each day roughly 17,000 people commute to and from work in downtown. Downtown Waco was built around the Waco Suspension Bridge, which was a crucial crossing of the Brazos River. In May 1953, the worst tornado in Texas history struck downtown Waco killing 114, and injuring hundreds. It caused millions of dollars in damage, and dented Waco's economy for years to come. Downtown Waco is home to the ALICO tower, which was completed in 1910, and was once the tallest structure in the Southwest. Downtown Waco is now the location of the famous Dr Pepper Museum, where Dr Pepper was first invented, and the McLennan County Courthouse.
In the past few decades, Downtown Waco was slowly decaying as Waco grew to the West away from Downtown. But recently Waco's city leaders have been taking strides into making Downtown Waco the city center again. There are two projects currently being worked on in Heritage Square, which takes up two blocks in downtown, between 3rd and 4th streets and Washington Avenue and Franklin Avenue. The first project is the new Chamber of Commerce of Waco, which will be an environment-friendly building. The second project, which broke ground in the spring of 2008, is a mixed-use development with commercial and residential buildings. The two-story, Greater Waco Chamber Headquarters is under construction adjacent to Heritage Square and will be the marketing center for Greater Waco and the cornerstone of Waco Town Square. The building has been designed to accommodate the oganization's committees and staff who are advancing an expanded economic and communtiy development agenda. The Third Street facade will have large, retail-style windows, contributing to an interesting uban feel of the development and is Waco's first LEED (Leadership in Engineering and Environment Design)-certified building. There are also other projects being talked about by the public. In fact, over $80 million in construction is underway or planned for the city of Waco.
Education
Waco Independent School District serves most of the city of Waco. However, Midway ISD, Connally ISD, China Spring ISD, and La Vega ISD also serve parts of Waco. There are four main high schools in Waco city limits: Waco High School (Waco ISD), A.J. Moore Academy (Waco ISD), University High School (Waco ISD), and Midway High School (Midway ISD). The schools are all major rivals in sports, academics and pride; with the exception of A.J. Moore which does not offer sports besides swimming. Public charter high schools including Rapoport Academy, EOAC Charter School and Premier High School of Waco serve the McLennan County area. Local private and parochial schools include Vanguard College Preparatory School, Texas Christian Academy and Reicher Catholic High School.
There are also three institutions of higher learning in Waco. They are:
Transportation
I-35 is the major north-south highway for Waco. It directly connects the city with Dallas (I-35E), Fort Worth (I-35W), Austin and San Antonio.
State Highway 6 runs northwest-southeast and connects Waco to Bryan/College Station and Houston.
US Highway 84 is the major east-west thoroughfare in the area. It is also known as Waco Drive, Bellmead Drive, Woodway Drive or the George W Bush parkway (Depending on what part of town you're in).
Loop 340 bypasses the city to the east and south.
State Highway 31 splits off of US-84 just east of Waco and connects the city to Tyler, Longview and Shreveport, LA.
The Waco area is home to three airports. Waco Regional Airport (ACT) serves the city with daily flights to D/FW International via American Eagle and to Houston's Bush Intercontinental via Continental Connection. TSTC Airport (CNW) is the former site of James Connally AFB and is the primary fly-in point for President George W. Bush when he is visiting his ranch in Crawford, TX. It is also a hub airport for L3 and several other aviation companies. McGregor Executive Airport (PWG) is a general aviation facility located west of Waco.
Local transportation is provided by the Waco Transit System, which offers bus service Monday-Saturday to most of the city. Taxi service is provided by Yellow Cab.
Train service is offered through Amtrak. The Texas Eagle route includes daily stops in McGregor, just west of the city.
Attractions
Major Waco attractions include:
Professional sports
The American Basketball Association had a franchise for part of the 2006 season, the Waco Wranglers. The team played at Reicher Catholic High School and practiced at Texas State Technical College.
Previous professional sports franchises in Waco have proven unsuccessful. The Waco Marshals of the National Indoor Football League lasted less than two months amidst a midseason ownership change in 2004. (The team became the beleaguered Cincinnati Marshals the following year.) The Waco Wizards of the now-defunct Western Professional Hockey League fared better, lasting into a fourth season before folding in 2000. Both teams played at the Heart O' Texas Coliseum, one of Waco's largest entertainment and sports venues.
The SIFL (Southern Indoor Football League) announced that Waco is an expansion market for the 2010 season. It is rumored that they will play in the Heart O' Texas Coliseum.
Professional baseball first came to Waco in 1889 with the formation of the Waco Tigers, a member of the Texas League. The Tigers were renamed in 1905 to the Navigators, and later to the Steers. In 1920, the team was sold to Wichita Falls. In 1923, a new franchise called the Indians was formed in Waco and was a member of the Class D Texas Association. In 1925, Waco rejoined the Texas League with the formation of the Waco Cubs.
On June 20, 1930, the first night game in Texas League history was played at Katy Park in Waco. The lights were generously donated by Waco resident, Charles Redding Turner who owned a local farm team for recruits to the Chicago Cubs.
On the night of August 6, 1930, baseball history was made at Katy Park: in the eighth inning of a night game against Beaumont, Waco left fielder Gene Rye became the only player in the history of professional baseball to hit three home runs in one inning.
1930 was the last year that Waco had a team in the Texas League, but Waco fielded some strong semi-pro teams in the 1930s and early 1940s. During the World War II years of 1943-45, the powerful Waco Army Air Field team was probably the best in the state; many major leaguers played for the team, and it was managed by big league catcher Birdie Tebbetts.
In 1947, the Class B Big State League was organized with Waco as a member called The Waco Dons.
In 1948, A.H. Kirksey, owner of Katy Park, persuaded the Pittsburgh Pirates Professional club to take over the Waco operation and the nickname was changed to Pirates. The Pirates vaulted into third place in 1948. They dropped a notch to fourth in 1949, but prevailed in the playoffs to win the league championship. The Pirates then tumbled into the second division, bottoming out with a dreadful 29-118, 0.197 club in 1952. This mark ranks as one of the 10 worst marks of any 20th century full-season team. When the tornado struck in 1953, it destroyed the park. The team relocated to Longview, Texas to finish the season and finished a respectable third with a 77-68 record.
People with Waco ties
Sports
- Lance Berkman, born in Waco, is a Major League Baseball player for the Houston Astros.
- Kwame Cavil, born in Waco, is a Canadian Football League wide receiver for the Edmonton Eskimos.
- Zach Duke, graduated from Midway High School in Waco, is a Major League Baseball player for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
- Ricky Olmsted, born in Waco, won the 2006 Maccabi Games gold medal as a member of the U.S. Men's Soccer Team.
- Dave Eichelberger, born in Waco, is an American professional golfer who has won several tournaments at both the PGA Tour and Champions Tour levels.
- Casey Fossum, graduated from Midway High School in Waco, is a Major League Baseball player for the Detroit Tigers. He has also pitched for the Boston Red Sox, the Arizona Diamondbacks, the San Diego Padres and the Tampa Bay Devil Rays.
- Andy Hawkins, born in Waco, is a former major-league pitcher. A right-handed starter, Hawkins spent most of his career with the San Diego Padres, and also played for the New York Yankees and briefly for the Oakland Athletics.
- Sherrill Headrick, born in Waco, came to the American Football League's Dallas Texans as an undrafted linebacker. He went on to star for the Texans and the Kansas City Chiefs.
- Heath Herring, born in Waco, is a mixed martial arts fighter.
- Neil Jeffrey, former All-American quarterback at Baylor University and NFL quarterback for the San Diego Chargers, led Baylor University in 1974 to their first Southwest Conference championship in 50 years.
- Derrick Johnson, NFL football player for the Kansas City Chiefs is from Waco. He received the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation's top defensive player and the Dick Butkus Award as the nation's top linebacker playing for The University of Texas in 2004. His family lives in Hallsburg, Texas, approximately 15 miles (24 km) from Waco.
- Michael Johnson, United States sprinter; graduated from Baylor University in 1990.
- Dominic Rhodes, born in Waco, is an American football running back who currently plays for the Indianapolis Colts.
- Bill Rogers, born in Waco, is best known as the winner of the 1981 British Open.
- George Sauer, Jr., graduated from Waco High School, and was a wide receiver with the New York Jets.
- LaDainian Tomlinson, NFL football player for the San Diego Chargers; born in Rosebud, grew up in Waco, and went to University High School. He was the NFL MVP in 2006.
- Cameron Wake, born in Waco, is a Canadian Football League defensive end for the British Columbia Lions
- Pro Baseball Players from Waco
- Kevin Belcher 8/8/1967 CF-RF MLB 1990-1990
- Lance Berkman 2/10/1976 LF-RF MLB 1999-2006
- Buzz Dozier 8/31/1927 P MLB 1947-1949
- Louis Drucke 12/3/1888 P MLB 1909-1912
- Boob Fowler 11/11/1900 SS MLB 1923-1926
- Charlie Gorin 2/6/1928 P MLB 1954-1955
- Donald Harris 11/12/1967 CF-RF MLB 1991-1993
- Andy Hawkins 1/21/1960 P MLB 1982-1991
- Al Jackson 12/25/1935 P MLB 1959-1969
- Scott Jordan 5/27/1963 CF MLB 1988-1988
- Rudy Law 10/7/1956 OF MLB 1978-1986
- Dutch Meyer 10/6/1915 2B MLB 1940-1946
- Arthur Rhodes 10/24/1969 P MLB 1991-2006
- Schoolboy Rowe 1/11/1910 P MLB 1933-1949
- Ted Wilborn 12/16/1958 OF MLB 1979-1980
Movies
- Jules Bledsoe Stage & Screen Actor and Singer., When the Broadway premiere of Show Boat was delayed in 1927 by Ziegfeld, Paul Robeson became unavailable, so Jules Bledsoe stepped in. He played and sang the role of Joe, introducing Ol' Man River.
- Shannon Elizabeth of American Pie fame was born in Houston and grew up in Waco.
- Peri Gilpin, best known for her television character Roz Doyle on the hit series Frasier, was born in Waco and raised in Dallas.
- Texas Guinan was a Hollywood actress from 1917 to 1933. She was active in vaudeville and theater, and was in many movies (often as the gun-toting hero in silent westerns, more than a match for any man). She also had a successful career as a hostess in night clubs and speakeasies in New York City.
- Thomas Harris, author of The Silence of the Lambs, was a student at Baylor University, and covered the police beat for the Waco Tribune-Herald.
- Jennifer Love Hewitt, born in Waco.
- Terrence Malick, director of The Thin Red Line, was born in Waco.
- Comedian Steve Martin was born in Waco; his family moved to California when he was around six years old.
- Director Kevin Reynolds (Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, The Count of Monte Cristo) was born and raised in Waco.
Music
- David Crowder Band, is from Waco and is one of the most popular Christian Worship bands in the United States.
- Pat Green, Country music singer/songwriter, was raised in Waco and his parents still reside there.
- Roy Hargrove, a Grammy Award-winning jazz trumpeter, was born and raised in Waco.
- Hi-Five, a successful R&B group who had hits in the 1990s including "I Like The Way (The Kissing Game)", is from Waco.
- Willie Nelson, country music singer/songwriter was born in nearby Abbott, Texas and attended Baylor University for one year.
- Ted Nugent along with his wife Shemane and son Rocco Nugent live in Waco
- Bill Payne, keyboardist for the boogie band Little Feat born and raised in the Waco area.
- Billy Joe Shaver, country songwriter ("Honky Tonk Heroes") and singer ("Old Chunk of Coal"), lives in Waco.
- Ashlee Simpson, pop music singer, was born in Waco and raised in Dallas.
- Jessica Simpson, pop music singer, was born in Abilene and raised in Waco and Dallas.
- Strange Fruit Project, an underground hip hop trio, is from Waco.
- Hank Thompson, was born in Waco and is a country music singer who was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame.
- Fisher Tull, composer (1934-1994)
Politics
- Joe Barton, a US congressman representing Texas's 6th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives was born and raised in Waco.
- Jessica Craig, former senator from Oklahoma, passed legislation involving federal care of senior citizens.
- Russell B. Cummings, member of the Texas House of Representatives from Harris County, 1963-1967; retired to Waco
- Leon Jaworski, who prosecuted Nazi war criminals during the Nuremberg trials and then was the special prosecutor who brought down the Nixon administration during the Watergate scandal, was born and raised in Waco.
- Albert Parsons, a radical labor organizer hanged for his role in Chicago's Haymarket Riot (but posthumously exonerated). During Reconstruction, he attended Waco University (now Baylor) and published a pro-civil rights newspaper in Waco. He moved to Chicago after marrying activist Lucy Waller.
- Ann Richards, former governor of Texas and keynote speaker at the 1988 Democratic National Convention, was born in the Waco suburb of Lacy-Lakeview.
Other
- T. Berry Brazelton, born in Waco, is a noted pediatrician and author. Major hospitals throughout the world use the Brazelton Neonatal Behavioral Assessment Scale(NBAS).
- Dr. Allen Bussey, a Waco resident, set a yo-yo world record with 20,302 consecutive loops on April 23, 1977.
- Heloise, of the "Hints from Heloise" column, was born in Waco. Her column addresses lifestyle hints, including consumer issues, pets, travel, food, home improvement, health and much more.
- David Koresh, leader of the Branch Davidians, died along with 75 others in the blaze during the Waco Siege, in the town of Elk, nine miles (14 km) away.
- Glenn McGee, born in Waco, is an internationally noted bioethicist, syndicated for Hearst Newspapers and for and scholar.
- Doris (Dorie) Miller, born in Waco, was an African American cook in the United States Navy and a hero during the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. He was the first African American to be awarded the Navy's second highest honor, the Navy Cross. Actor Cuba Gooding Jr. portrayed Miller in the 2001 movie Pearl Harbor.
- C. Wright Mills, born in Waco, was a noted sociologist. Among other topics he was concerned with the responsibilities of intellectuals in post-World War II society, and advocated relevance and engagement over disinterested academic observation.
- Felix Huston Robertson, born in Washington-on-the-Brazos, was a former Confederate Civil War general who became a wealthy lawyer, railroad director, and land speculator in Waco during Reconstruction.
- Robert Wilson, born in Waco, is an internationally acclaimed stage director.
See also
External links
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