Waco << WAY koh >> (pop. 138,486; met. area pop. 295,782) is a city in central Texas. It lies on the Brazos River, about 100 miles (160 kilometers) south of Dallas.
The city.
Waco is the seat of McLennan County and has a council-manager form of government. The city is the home of Baylor University, the largest Baptist university in the world. Attractions in the Waco area include the Cameron Park Zoo, the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame, and several historic homes. Waco Mammoth National Monument displays the fossilized remains of prehistoric elephantlike mammals discovered in the area in the late 1970’s.
Waco’s industries include candy manufacturing and systems modification and modernization for military and commercial aircraft. The surrounding area produces cotton, dairy products, grains, hay, livestock, poultry, and vegetables.
History.
Waco was founded in 1849 on the site of a deserted Waco Indian village and was named for that tribe. That same year, settler Shapley P. Ross established a ferry service across the Brazos River. The ferry made Waco an important gateway to the West. Construction of a suspension bridge over the Brazos in 1870 and the arrival of the railroad in 1871 encouraged the city’s growth. The city’s most rapid growth occurred in the 1940’s, when the expansion of military facilities and manufacturing plants increased Waco’s population by nearly 30,000.
Since the late 1900’s, a number of deadly disasters have brought national attention to the Waco area. In 1993, a 51-day stand-off took place between federal law enforcement agents and a cult called the Branch Davidians at the cult’s compound near Waco (see Reno, Janet). More than 80 people died.
In April 2013, a huge fire and explosion occurred at a fertilizer plant in the town of West, Texas, north of Waco. Fifteen people were killed and 260 more were injured. In 2016, investigators with the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives determined that the fire had been intentionally set.
In May 2015, a shootout involving rival motorcycle gangs and police left 9 bikers dead and 18 wounded. More than 170 bikers were arrested, and prosecutors later charged more than 100 of them with engaging in organized crime. In 2019, however, the McLennan County district attorney’s office—citing lack of evidence—dropped all charges related to the 2015 shootout.
