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500 AD-1800s--Indians inhabit Central Texas
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circa. 1772--founding of Waco Indian Village
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1837-1839--original Fort Fisher established
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1839--George Bernard Erath, the father of Waco , begins surveying
the area
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1839--Shapley Price Ross arrives in Texas with his family
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1844--George Barnard arrives and opens a trading post on Brazos '
east bank
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1845--Neil McLennan moves to the south Bosque River area, becoming
the first white settler west of the Brazos
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1846--blacksmith Jesse Dutton arrives and sets up shop on the Brazos
' east bank
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March 1, 1849-- Waco Village is founded under direction of George
Bernard Erath and John McLennan
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1850-- United States recognizes Waco Village and establishes a post
office there
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throughout the 1850s--legislature petitioned to form a county in
the area; Waco named as county seat; courthouse built for $500.00
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January 6,1851--first white child, Kate Ross, born in Waco
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August 29, 1856--City of Waco incorporates
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1858--J.W. and Thomas Mann come to Waco to get horses
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1861-1862-- Waco sends 2,200 men to fight for the Confederacy
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1867--group of Waco businessmen form the Waco Bridge Company and
receive a charter from the state legislature to build a “good,
safe and substantial bridge across the Brazos River .”
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1867-1868--Suspension Bridge is under construction
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January 6, 1870-- Waco Suspension Bridge opens
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1871--trains come to Waco
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1872--Tapp Railroad
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March 23, 1873--fire destroys Bridge Street ,
otherwise known as Rat Row
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1881--Paul Quinn College moves to Waco
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1885--Dr. Pepper first mixed at Old Corner Drug in Waco .
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1886-- Baylor University moves to Waco and merges with Waco University
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1889--Suspension Bridge taken over by City of Waco . Tolls are no
longer needed for use of the bridge.
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1894--William Brann begins publishing the Iconoclast.
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August 1897--The Waco Times-Herald , a consolidation of
the Waco Morning Times and the Waco Herald,
begins publication as a morning daily.
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1899--William Jennings Bryan and Joseph Sayers open Waco Auditorium.
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1899--Waco Public Library is established at Central High School.
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1911-- Texas ' first skyscraper, the Amicable Building , is built
in downtown Waco At completion, it is the tallest
building south of the Mason-Dixon line , 22 stories.
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1917-- Camp MacArthur is established
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October 1927--Publishers of the Waco News-Tribune acquire
the Times-Herald.
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1929--Construction begins on the dam of the Bosque River that would
create Lake Waco .
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April 4, 1929--The New York Yankees play an exhibition game against
the Waco Cubs at Katy Park. Among the
Yankees are Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Bob Muesel and Leo Durocher.
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March 4, 1930--Clyde Barrow, serving time in the McLennan County
jail for theft, burglary, and concealing stolen property, escapes
after Bonnie Parker smuggles a gun into the jail.
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December 7, 1941--Doris Miller becomes Waco 's first military hero
when he shoots down four Japanese
planes at Pearl Harbo. He receives the Navy Cross.
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August 14, 1945--Comedian Steve Martin is born in Waco.
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1948--Waco Pirates, a minor league farm team for the Pittsburgh Pirates,
is established. (The team disbands in 1956.)
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1949-- Waco celebrates 100 years.
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May 11, 1953--A tornado destroys much of downtown Waco , killing
114 people, injuring 1,097, damaging 850 homes and 376 buildings,
and destroying 196 buildings. Total damage estimated: $51 million;
Dr. Maurice Barnes of the McLennan County Medical Society arranges
for physicians to donate their services, so there are no medical costs
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1953--Heart O' Texas Fair and Rodeo are organized.
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October 12, 1956--Elvis Presley performs at the Heart
O' Texas Coliseum. He is later stationed at Fort
Hood .
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1964-- Texas ' first Urban Renewal project begins in Waco
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1966--Dr. Gary Radford becomes the first African-American to serve
on the Waco City Council.
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November 1973--The Times-Herald combines its morning and
afternoon editions and changes its name to the Waco Tribune-Herald.
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1974--Leonidas Jaworski, who was born in Waco in 1905, serves as
special prosecutor for the Watergate scandal.
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1974--Oscar De Conge is elected as Waco 's first African-American
mayor
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1987--A restored Waco Hippodrome, once one of Waco 's movie houses,
begins to draw crowds back to Austin Avenue as
a performing arts center.
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1992-- Waco native Ann Willis Richards becomes governor of Texas
.
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April 19, 1993--Branch Davidian compound outside of Waco is consumed
by fire after
a 56-day standoff with federal authorities. Eighty people, old and
young, die in the flames.
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1996--Baylor's Michael Johnson becomes the first male athlete to
win both the 200- and 400-meter titles at the Olympics. He sets
a world record in the 200-meter race at 19.32 seconds.
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1998-- Waco native Lyndon Olson, Jr. is appointed American Ambassador
to Sweden by President Bill Clinton
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1999-- Waco celebrates 150 years.
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2000 -- Texas Gov. George W. Bush, whose ranch is in
Crawford outside of Waco , becomes the 34th president
of the United States. He is re-elected in 2004.
