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Waco’s sporting history is colorful and diverse, not least due to the various minor league baseball teams that have called the city their home. One of the longest standing and most successful of these…
Willie Durham House
Willie Durham House, an extraordinary person, devoted public servant, and gifted administrator, played a pivotal role in the establishment of two of Waco’s most essential institutions — free public…
Bettie Mae Scott
During World War II, Elizabeth “Bettie” Mae Scott joined a small group of women who took to the skies in support of the United States war effort. Scott served as a member of the Women Airforce Service…
Armstrong Browning Library & Museum
One of the most beautiful buildings on Baylor University’s campus is the Armstrong Browning Library & Museum. Sources such as Campus Grotto and Flavorwire have named the library to their lists of the…
Jesse's Tortilla Factory
Since 1958, Jesse’s Tortilla Factory, founded by Waco couple Jesse and Esther Contreras, has provided the Waco community with fresh tortillas and chips made in-house. Jesse’s sells at both wholesale…
Cruz's Drive Inn
On the corner of South Eleventh Street and Cleveland Ave, Cruz’s Drive Inn stood as a cornerstone to the community for over 50 years. Four generations of the Cruz family served both the neighborhood…
Memorial Hall: Woman's Memorial Dormitory
Baylor University was the first coeducational university in the South, and only the second in the country. Even so, the education women received at Baylor for many years was fundamentally different…
McLennan Community College
Since the nineteenth century, Waco has been renowned for the quality and number of higher education institutions in the city and surrounding area. Despite this reputation, the Waco area did not boast…
Toby's Practical Business College
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the rise of railroads and industrialization caused significant changes in the business world. The growth of corporations and big businesses led to…
Waco Wizards
Until the 1990s, hockey teams in the South were few and far between. The heat prevalent in the southern states did not exactly lend itself to ice-based sports, leading locals to favor warm-weather…
Farm Labor Camp
The rapid rise of migrant labor in Texas in the 1940s brought large numbers of laborers to Waco. To accommodate this new situation, the city of Waco acquired funds to build the Waco Farm Labor Camp, a…
Ernesto Fraga
A Chicano activist and founder of Tiempo newspaper, Ernesto Fraga worked tirelessly to advocate for the interests of Hispanic communities in Waco and Austin. Fraga’s family had a long history in Waco:…
La Pila
At a fountain named La Pila, children frequently splashed and played while others took a drink or filled jars and buckets with water. La Pila, meaning “the basin,” was the centerpiece and social hub…
Manuel "Manny" Sustaita
Manuel "Manny" Sustaita was a Vietnam veteran, civil activist, and the founder of Waco Citizens for a Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Though an insurance salesman by trade, he spent most of his life…
Lewis "Les" Ritcherson
Lewis “Les” Ritcherson, born in Hillsboro, Texas in 1926, was the first African American to coach at the University of Wisconsin and the second African American football coach in the Big Ten.…
Dorothy Scarborough
Among 1920s literary enthusiasts, Dorothy Scarborough was a familiar name, especially in her home state of Texas and in New York, where she taught at Columbia University. Initially well-known among…
The Baylor Bear Habitat
One of the most popular places to visit on Baylor University’s campus is the Bill and Eva Williams Bear Habitat, home to Baylor’s live bear mascot. The first habitat was built in 1945, but through the…
Stilwell Retirement Residence
Nestled behind a bustling area of Waco on Laurel Lake Drive stands a facility called Stilwell Retirement Residence, unique among retirement homes in Waco because of its mission to provide for retired…
Earle-Harrison House
Relocated, dismantled, relocated again, and pieced back together, the Earle-Harrison House has endured more than most historic homes in Waco. Originally built in 1858 for Dr. Baylis Earle and his wife…
Old Main
Anyone who has attended or visited Baylor University would recognize the familiar spires of Old Main as markers of the historic heart of campus. Built in 1887, Old Main was the first building…
Allene Jeanes
Most people have consumed the ingredient xanthan gum many times before, even if it was unknowingly. Xanthan gum is used in a wide variety of products, including gluten-free bread, ice cream, and cough…
Waco Civic Theatre
The Waco Civic Theatre has brought culture and entertainment to the city of Waco for a century. It began as the Waco Little Theatre in 1925. The theater was founded by Mrs. Jean Fort, daughter-in-law…
Dr. Monroe A. Majors
Monroe Alpheus Majors—the first Black Texan to obtain a medical degree—was never content simply to be a pioneer for African Americans in the field of medicine. Throughout his life, he pursued writing,…
Tony DeMaria's Bar-B-Que
Tony DeMaria’s Bar-B-Que has graced Elm Avenue with its unique style of barbecue for many decades. The restaurant is a family-owned business with a rich history that began with the immigration of the…