Waco

History

Indigenous peoples occupied areas along the river for thousands of years. In historic times, the area of present-day Waco was occupied by the Wichita Indian tribe known as the "Waco" (Spanish: Hueco or Huaco). In 1824, Thomas M. Duke was sent to explore the area after violence erupted between the Waco people and the European settlers. His report to Stephen F. Austin, described the Waco village: After further violence, Austin halted an attempt to destroy their village in retaliation. In 1825, he made a treaty with them. In 1830, due to an invasion by the Cherokee, the Waco were eventually pushed out of the region, settling north near present-day Fort Worth. In 1872, they were moved onto a reservation in Oklahoma with other Wichita tribes. In 1902, the Waco received allotments of land and became official US citizens. 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, after the Indians who had lived there. In March 1849, Shapley Prince Ross, the father of future Governor Lawrence Sullivan Ross, built the first house in Waco, a double-log cabin, on a bluff overlooking the springs. His daughter Kate was the first settler child born in Waco. Because of this, Ross is considered to have been the founder of Waco, Texas. 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 completed in 1870. The company…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which (11.85%) are covered by water. Downtown Waco is relatively small when compared to other larger Texas cities, such as Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, or even Fort Worth, El Paso, or Austin. The 22-story ALICO Building, completed in 1910, is the tallest building in Waco. Waco experiences a humid subtropical climate (Köppen climate classification Cfa), characterized by hot summers and generally mild winters. Some temperatures have been observed in every month of the year. The record low temperature is , set on January 31, 1949; the record high temperature is , set on July 23, 2018.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  9,586
• Carolina Chickadee

  Poecile carolinensis (Audubon, 1834) · Aves
  7,076
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  6,107
• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,781
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,538
• White-winged Dove

  Zenaida asiatica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,300
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  5,273
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  4,825

Most recent

• M 3.1 — 2026-06-04
  7 km NE of Marquez, Texas
• M 2.8 — 2012-07-10
  6 km NNE of Keene, Texas
• M 2.7 — 2012-07-06
  5 km NE of Keene, Texas
• M 2.5 — 2012-06-26
  Northern Texas
• M 3.3 — 2012-01-18
  9 km SSE of Godley, Texas
• M 2.7 — 2011-12-07
  1 km S of Venus, Texas