Waco is a city in and the county seat of McLennan County, Texas, United States. It is situated along the Brazos River and I-35, halfway between Dallas and Austin. The city had a U.S. census estimated 2022 population of 143,984, making it the 24th-most populous city in the state. The Waco metropolitan statistical area consists of McLennan, Falls and Bosque counties, which had a 2020 population of 295,782. Bosque County was added to the Waco MSA in 2023. The 2023 U.S. census population estimate for the Waco metropolitan area was 304,865 residents.
The Brazos River, called the Río de los Brazos de Dios by early Spanish explorers, is the 14th-longest river in the United States at 1,280 miles (2,060 km) from its headwater source at the head of Blackwater Draw, Roosevelt County, New Mexico to its mouth at the Gulf of Mexico with a 45,000-square-mile (116,000 km2) drainage basin. Being one of Texas' largest rivers, it is sometimes used to mark the boundary between East Texas and West Texas.
The Improved Order of Red Men is a fraternal organization established in North America in 1834. It claims direct descent from the colonial era Sons of Liberty. Their rituals and regalia are modeled after those assumed by men of the era to be used by Native Americans. Despite the name, the order was formed solely by, and for, white men. This whites-only rule was part of their bylaws until 1974, when the all-white clause was eliminated. Their current position is that they are now open to people of all ethnic backgrounds. In 1935 the organization claimed a membership of about half a million, but it has now declined to a little more than 15,000.
The Armstrong Browning Library & Museum, formerly known as the Armstrong Browning Library, is located on the campus of Baylor University in Waco, Texas, United States. It is the home of the largest collections of works by English poets Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Additionally it is thought to house the largest collection of secular stained glass in the world.
The Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum in Waco, Texas, is the state-designated official historical center of the famed Texas Rangers law enforcement agency. It consists of the Homer Garrison Jr. museum gallery, the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame, the Texas Ranger Research Center and the Headquarters of Texas Rangers Company "F". The City of Waco serves as the appointed trustee on behalf of the Texas Department of Public Safety and the Texas Legislature.
The Texas Historical Commission is an agency dedicated to historic preservation within the U.S. state of Texas. It administers the National Register of Historic Places for sites in Texas.
The Grand Lodge of Texas, Ancient Free and Accepted Masons is the largest of several governing bodies of Freemasonry in the State of Texas, being solely of the Ancients' tradition and descending from the Ancient Grand Lodge of England, founded on 17 June 1751 at the Turk's Head Tavern, Greek Street, Soho, London. According to historian James D. Carter, the "Grand Lodge of the Republic of Texas, A.F. & A.M." was founded on 16 April 1838. However, its first Grand Master and other grand officers were installed by Sam Houston on 11 May 1838. The Grand Lodge of Texas is one of the largest in the world, reporting 69,099 members in 2019. The current Grand Lodge of Texas facilities were made possible by the fundraising efforts of Waco Masonic Lodge No. 92.
The Sue & Frank Mayborn Natural Science and Cultural History Museum Complex is a 142,000-square-foot (13,200 m2) facility that opened in May 2004 at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. The complex features a natural history wing with exhibits on prehistoric Central Texas, dioramas featuring landscapes of the area, and examples of the homes utilized by 19th Century residents of Texas, The Harry and Anna Jeanes Discovery center with two floors of hands-on experiences for all ages, and The 13-acre (53,000 m2) Governor Bill and Vara Daniel Historic Village. The complex also features the 5,000 sq ft (460 m2) Anding Traveling Exhibit Gallery, a theater, and a museum store.
Lake Waco is a man-made reservoir located on the west side of Waco, in McLennan County, Texas. It provides water to several cities in the Waco Metropolitan Statistical Area, including Waco, Bellmead, Hewitt, Robinson, Woodway and others in the Cross Timbers and Prairies ecoregion of Texas. Lake Waco was formed by a dam built on the Bosque River basin. The lake has 79,000 acre-feet (97,000,000 m3) of water and is managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
The Texas State Library and Archives Commission (TSLAC) refers to the state government agency in the state of Texas that supports the reading, learning, and historical preservation needs of Texas and its people. The agency is charged with preserving the archival record of Texas, supporting research, and making primary resources available to the public; assisting public, academic, and school libraries across the state in meeting the needs of their communities and students; helping public agencies maintain their public records; and supporting the reading needs of thousands of Texans with disabilities preventing them from reading a standard book.
The Baylor Bears football team represents Baylor University in Division I FBS college football. They are a member of the Big 12 Conference. After 64 seasons at the off-campus Baylor Stadium, renamed Floyd Casey Stadium in 1989, the Bears opened the new on-campus McLane Stadium for the 2014 season.
The Battle of the Brazos is an American college football rivalry game between the Baylor Bears and Texas A&M Aggies. The rivalry is named for the Brazos River that flows by the two schools, which are 90 miles apart. The Battle of the Brazos debuted in 1899. The rivalry became dormant in 2012, when Texas A&M left the Big 12 Conference to join the Southeastern Conference.
Baylor University is a private Baptist Christian research university in Waco, Texas. Baylor was chartered in 1845 by the last Congress of the Republic of Texas. Baylor is the oldest continuously operating university in Texas and one of the first educational institutions west of the Mississippi River in the United States. Located on the banks of the Brazos River next to I-35, between the Dallas–Fort Worth Metroplex and Austin, the university's 1,000-acre (400-hectare) campus is the largest Baptist university in the world.
Hill College is a public community college in Hillsboro, Texas. It opened its doors in 1923, one year before North Central Texas College, which is the oldest continuously-operating community college in Texas because Hill College was closed during the 1950s.
The Baylor Research and Innovation Collaborative is a science research facility. It is the first, and cornerstone, facility of a 21-acre discovery complex that is expected to evolve into the Central Texas Technology and Research Park. Originally a General Tire manufacturing facility, the building and surrounding area are due to be renovated to provide 300,000 square feet of physical space for labs, research centers, industry collaborative space and workforce training.
The Texas Collection is one of the special libraries at Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Situated in the Carroll Library Building, the Texas Collection serves as a collection of various documents, items and artifacts significant to Texas history.
Cameron Park is a 416-acre (168 ha) urban park located in Waco, Texas. The park was dedicated on May 27, 1910, and named in memory of Waco philanthropist and lumber baron William Cameron. The park also contains Waco's 52-acre (21 ha) zoo, the Cameron Park Zoo.
The Cotton Palace was an exhibition ground in the area of Clay Avenue, Dutton Avenue and South Sixteenth Street in Waco, Texas, from 1895 to 1930. It was built to highlight cotton-growing activities in the area.
