History
"The Waco Horror"
The history of McLennan County, like that of Texas and the nation, is marred by institutional racism sometimes manifested in violence. From 1860 through 1922, 43 lynchings were documented here. Following reconstruction, most victims were black. Jim Crow Laws and acts of violence were used to disenfranchise, segregate and impede the advancement of African Americans.
Architecture
Albert Turner Clifton House
Built in 1921 for the family of priminent Waco businessman and civic leader Albert Turner Clifton (1879-1948), this house is a fine example of the Tudor revival style of architecture. Outstanding features of the house include its steeply-pitched roof, central gable with decorative half-timbering and vergeboard, and a prominent three-bay brick and wood porch with Tudor arches.
History
Alexander McKinza
In 1834 Alexander McKinza moved to Nacogdoches, Texas, from his native Alabama. During the Texas War for Independence, he joined the Sabine volunteers under Capt. Benjamin F. Bryant and fought at the battle of San Jacinto, April 21, 1836. McKinza married Clarissa Brewer on March 14, 1839.
Architecture
Alico Building
Designed and built by Sanguinet & Staats and Roy E. Lane, the 22-story home office of the Amicable Liife Insurance Co. was erected in 1911 as publicity for the new firm. The structure's Beaux Arts styling features rich terra cotta details on the top four floors. For many years the tallest building in the southwest, it withstood the 1953 Waco tornado.
Architecture
Austin Avenue Methodist Church
Designed by R.H. Hunt, this edifice is substantial interpretation of Gothic architecture. It was built in 1925 during the ministry of the Rev. Cullom H. Booth. The two-story-equivalent brick structure, which rests on a raised basement, features a prominent bell tower. The original tracery detail in the tower was removed by the 1940s.
History
Battle Cemetery and Community
Established about 1880, the Battle community was named for local landowner Nicholas W. Battle (1820-1905). By the 1890s a town had developed, including a school, post office, business, homes, and churches. A cemetery was established on land acquired from Alexnder and Kenneth McLennan. The earliest documented grave dates to 1888.
History
Baylor University
World's largest Baptist University. Founded under charter issued by congress of Republic of Texas on Feb. 1, 1845, and in continuous operation ever since. Named for Judge R.E.B. Baylor (1791-1873), a native of Kentucky, an 1820s United States Congressman from Alabama, one of the first district judges in Texas. Judge Baylor, with the Rev. William Tryon and the Rev.
Architecture
Best Theatre Building
Constructed by town founder Thomas M. West and local contractor J.W. Bridges about 1890, this building housed two saloons until prohibition in 1919 promoted its conversion into a grocery store and bakery. Jim Tobola modified the building in 1923 to house the Best Theatre, which offered vaudeville, local entertainment, and movies before closing in 1976.
History
Bold Springs Cemetery
ISAAC BUTLER 'DOC' CAUBLE (1820-1904) BUILT A CABIN IN 1850 NEAR ONE OF SEVERAL FLOWING SPRINGS THAT WAS HOME TO GENERATIONS OF NATIVE AMERICANS. CAUBLE'S YOUNG SON, JAMES, WAS A FRIEND TO A COMANCHE BOY WHO DIED AND WAS BURIED ON THE HILL NOW HOLDING THIS CEMETERY. OTHER EARLY SETTLERS INCLUDED THE FAMILIES OF CAREY BOULDS, JACOB CLOSNER, WALTER BENNETT, WILLIAM HURLOCK, AND THOMAS WEST.
History
Bosque River Crossing of the 1841 Texan Santa Fe Expedition
Sent by Republic of Texas president Mirabeau B. Lamar to establish trade and expand Texas' legal boundaries, the members of the 1841 Texan Santa Fe Expedition met with a number of hardships endeavoring to carry out their mission. On July 6, 1841, the expedition crossed the Bosque River near this site with great difficulty due to the steep river banks.
History
Bosqueville Cemetery
Burials began here as early as 1850 on 10 acres given by Little Berry White for a school and cemetery. A log schoolhouse at this site in 1853-54 served the Methodist and Baptist Churches as a meeting place. Some of the unmarked graves were those of slaves. The first marked graves, dated 1856, were those of David Smith Kornegay, a veteran of San Jacinto, and his mother-in-law, Bridget Lamb McGary.
History
Brann-Davis Shootings
The city of Waco in the 1890s divided into two armed camps over the caustic criticisms of William Cowper Brann (1855-1898) in his magazine, "The Iconoclast". A gifted writer, Brann attacked many organizations, especially Baptists and Baylor University. This controversy sparked a duel in 1897 between Judge George Bruce Gerald and James W. Harris. A Baylor partisan, Tom E.
History
Brazos River Transmission Electric Cooperative
The first generation and transmission electric cooperative in Texas, this corporation was organized in February 1941 by eleven small electric cooperatives which had been established under the rural electrification administration. With a goal of providing affordable wholesale power costs and improved service to its members, the cooperative first established offices in Fort Worth.
Transport
Bull Hide Creek Iron Bridge
Manufactured by the El Paso Bridge and Iron Company of El Paso, Texas, this metal truss bridge was erected over Bull Hide Creek at Winan's Crossing in 1914. The 69-foot Warren pony truss bridge includes a 16-foot timber deck, concrete piers, and timber approach spans.
History
Burleson Quadrangle
Dr. Rufus C. Burleson was the first president of Baylor's Waco campus and Burleson Quadrangle was named in his honor. With the completion of Baylor's four original buildings'Old Main (1886), Georgia Burleson Hall (1888), the F. L. Carroll Chapel and Library (1903), and the George W.
History
Canaan Baptist Cemetery
Canaan Baptist Church established an adjoining burial ground in 1894. Heinrich Engelbrecht donated land for the cemetery in 1895 and additional land in 1902. The earliest marked grave is for Franz Massirer, an Austrian immigrant who died in 1900. No records exist to document earlier burials or their exact locations. In 1928, a steel fence replaced the original barbed wire fence.
History
Canuteson, Ole
Ole Knudson was born in 1832 to Knud and Anna Knudson in Norstrokke on Norway's Karmoy Island. In 1850, the family, changing their name to Canuteson, moved to Illinois, where Ole wed Ellen Maline Gunderson, also of Nordstokke. At the urging of immigration promoter Cleng Peerson, the family moved to Texas, settling near Dallas.
History
Carroll Library
The Carroll Library has been a vital institution for Baylor since the early 20th century. The need for a central library became clear when Waco University consolidated with Baylor University at Independence in 1886, resulting in the opening of Baylor University. Holdings were spread throughout a number of libraries and literary societies making research difficult.
Architecture
Castle Heights
This historic Waco neighborhood exhibits distinctive design features. W.T. Herrick and W.L. Wollett platted Castle Heights in 1923, naming it for nearby Cottonland Castle and its elevation above the commercial district.
History
Central Texas Baptist Sanitarium
The Waco Baptist Association authorized a committee to build a Baptist hospital in Waco in 1910. With ecumenical support from local pastors, congregations, citizens and physicians, the Central Texas Baptist Sanitarium was slated to be built atop McArthur Hill, the highest point in the county, named for a World War I army installation base north of the building site.
History
Charles A. Westbrook Plantation
Charles Alexander Westbrook (1838-1895) came to Texas from Mississippi in 1859. He settled first at Washington-on-the-Brazos, where he married Mary Virginia Whitsitt. They eventually were the parents of thirteen children. After his service in the Confederate Army during the Civil War, Westbrook moved his family to McLennan County and established a large cotton plantation along Cow Bayou.
History
Church of the Assumption
This congregation originated as part of earlier church in Martinville (now Tours). After the Missouri, Kansas, and Texas Railroad came through the area about 1890, church members in west received permission from the Bishop to erect their own sanctuary in 1892. The Rev. John Geleissner served as first pastor of the new church.
History
Cobbs-Walker Cemetery
This small family cemetery was begun in 1853 upon the death of Missouri V. Cobbs, infant daughter of county judge John Allen Cobbs and his wife Eleanor. The graveyard contains one section with twenty-one graves of the Cobbs and related families, and another section with several unmarked graves of former slaves.
History
Congregation Agudath Jacob
In 1870, only fifty of Waco's 3,618 residents were Jewish. The Hebrew Benevolent Association and Cemetery of Waco were incorporated in 1873. The association was Waco's earliest Jewish community organization. Its purpose was to support local Jewish settlers. In the early 1880s political unrest in many eastern European countries led to heavy migration to the United States.
History
Congregation Rodef Sholom
Waco's Hebrew Benevolent Association formed in 1869 and bought land for use as a cemetery. The organization received its charter in 1873. That year, a group of 25 Jews in the Waco area received a charter for the Eureka Lodge No. 198 from the International Order of B'nai B'rith, a fraternal service organization.
Elsewhere in Texas
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