Timeline of Waco, Texas
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Waco, Texas, US.
19th century
- 1830 – Hueco village sacked by Cherokees.
- 1849
- * Shapley Prince Ross, a Texas Ranger who built the first house at Waco Village and established a ferry across the Brazos River, founds Waco, Texas.
- * March 1 – First sale of town lots at Waco Village.
- 1850
- * Shapley P. Ross opens the town’s first hotel.
- * Shapley P. Ross becomes Waco’s first postmaster.
- * Ross’s ferry across the Brazos River begins operating.
- * Waco becomes seat of newly established McLennan County, Texas.
- 1851 – Population: 152.
- 1852 – First Street Cemetery established.
- 1854 – Waco Era newspaper begins publication.
- 1856 – Town of Waco incorporated.
- 1858 – Southern Democrat newspaper begins publication.
- 1861 – Waco University founded.
- 1865 – Waco Examiner newspaper begins publication.
- 1866 – New Hope Baptist Church established.
- 1870
- * Waco Suspension Bridge opens.
- * Waco Tap Railroad begins operating.
- * Population: 3,008.
- 1871 – First Presbyterian Church built.
- 1872 – Waco and Northwestern Railroad begins operating.
- 1873
- * Fletcher Cemetery established.
- * Sanger Brothers shop in business.
- 1877 – Paul Quinn College relocated to Waco from Austin.
- 1878 – Oakwood Cemetery established.
- 1879 – St. Paul's Episcopal Church rebuilt.
- 1880 – Population: 7,295.
- 1881 – Rodeph Sholom Synagogue dedicated.
- 1884
- * Garland Opera House in business.
- * McClelland Opera House in business.
- 1885
- * Slayden-Kirksey Woolen Mill in business.
- * Baylor University relocated to Waco from Independence.
- * Flavored beverage "Dr. Pepper first mixed at Old Corner Drug in Waco."
- 1889 – "Hot artesian water...discovered beneath the city."
- 1890
- * C.C. McCulloch elected mayor.
- * Population: 14,445.
- 1892 – Geyser Ice Company in business.
- 1894 – Cotton Palace Exposition begins.
- 1895
- * AddRan College relocated to Waco from Thorp Spring.
- * Floral Society formed.
- 1897 – Waco Times-Herald newspaper in publication.
- 1898 – April 1: "Brann-Davis shooting."
- 1899 – Public library established.
- 1900 – Population: 20,686.
20th century
- 1901 – McLennan County Courthouse built.
- 1906 – Dr. Pepper bottling plant built.
- 1910 – Brazos Valley Cotton Oil mill in business.
- 1911
- * Amicable Life Insurance Co. building constructed.
- * Farmers' Improvement Bank founded.
- * Rex Theatre in business.
- 1912 – Raleigh Hotel built.
- 1914
- * Hippodrome Theatre opens.
- * Kestner's store in business.
- 1916 – May 15: Lynching of Jesse Washington.
- 1919 – Elite Cafe in business.
- 1920 – Population: 38,500.
- 1922 – WACO radio begins broadcasting.
- 1923 – July 30: Execution of Roy Mitchell.
- 1929 – Alamo Plaza Motor Hotel chain in business.
- 1930 – Population: 52,848.
- 1931 – St. Francis Catholic Church built.
- 1936 – September: Flood.
- 1937 – Blue Triangle Young Women's Christian Association formed.
- 1945 – U.S. Veterans Administration Medical Center built.
- 1950 – Population: 84,706.
- 1953 – May: 1953 Waco tornado outbreak.
- 1955
- * KWTX-TV begins broadcasting.
- * Cameron Park Zoo established.
- 1964 – Urban renewal project begins.
- 1965 – Flood control dam built on Brazos River basin.
- 1967 – Historic Waco Foundation established.
- 1974 – Oscar De Conge becomes mayor.
- 1980 – Population: 101,261.
- 1982 – July: 1982 Lake Waco murders.
- 1983 – :Richard Grandy co-founded Easy Gardener Products, Inc.
- 1993 – February 28 – April 19: Siege of religious Mount Carmel Center near Waco.
21st century
- 2010 – Population: city 124,805; megaregion 19,728,244.
- 2012 – Malcolm P. Duncan Jr. becomes mayor.
- 2015 – May 17: 2015 Waco shootout.
- 2016 – Kyle Deaver becomes mayor.
- 2023 – Former president Donald Trump holds the first rally of his successful 2024 presidential campaign.
published in 19th c.
*published in 20th c.
- circa 1926?
- +
- Roger N. Conger. Highlights of Waco History. Waco: Hill Printing and Stationery Co, 1945.