Waco history · History of Waco
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History of Waco
History of Waco
Founded in 1849 near the site of an abandoned agricultural village of Waco Indians, Waco rose to prominence in the 1870's as a major junction for the transport of cattle; by 1871 between 600,000 and 700,000 head of cattle had passed through the city. As time progressed, Waco's location at the crossroads of major railroads and its location on the Brazos River helped the city grow and thrive. It is now home to approximately 125,000 residents, with 260,000 in the greater Waco MSA area. Waco has a number of worthwhile attractions.
Elite Circle Grille:
The Colias Brothers founded the downtown Elite Café in 1919, which was open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. This original café partly burned in 1929 then closed in 1961. Between 1929 and 1961, the Colias brothers opened a second Elite Café on Waco’s famous Circle, the famous roundabout in town. The roundabout connects Interstate 35, LaSalle, Valley Mills, and Highway 77. The café was as busy as ever at its new location and eventually turned into the Elite that we know and love today.
Waco came to the world's attention, and is still remembered by many people, for the February 28, 1993 stand-off between federal agents (FBI, ATF) and the Branch Davidians, a Seventh Day Adventist offshoot religious group, led by David Koresh, the sect's leader. It resulted in the deaths of 86 people. The incident took place 15 miles outside of Waco, though - not in the city itself. When asked about the incident, most residents will answer; just realize that generally Wacoans are tired of the subject and would rather talk about something else.
Waco is best known in Texas for being the home of Baylor University, the largest Baptist university in the world, chartered during the Republic of Texas.
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Waco Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.