Waco TX

Waco is a city in central Texas in the southwest region of the United States.http://www.waco-texas.com/ It is the county seat of McLennan County and the home of several colleges including Baylor University.http://www.countymapsoftexas.com/mclennan.shtmlhttp://www.baylor.edu/about/index.php?id=48867 The educational and health services industry is the largest job segment in Waco, making up 18 percent of all local jobs.http://www.wacochamber.com/businessindustry.php Government and manufacturing jobs also make up more than 10 percent of the total Waco workforce each.http://www.wacochamber.com/businessindustry.php The major employer in Waco is the Providence Healthcare Network, ahead of Baylor University and the Waco Independent School District.http://www.wacochamber.com/businessindustry.php

Around 80 members of the Branch Davidian religious colony were killed during a government raid on their compound in Waco on April 19, 1993.http://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/22/us/a-special-counsel-finds-government-faultless-at-waco.html?ref=branchdavidians Members of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms raided the compound to serve arrest and search warrants relating to alleged illegal possession of firearms and explosives.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/waco/topten.html Arson investigators determined that Branch Davidian members had deliberately set a series of fires during the ATF’s tear-gas raid, possibly at the behest of Branch Davidian leader David Koresh.http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/waco/topten2.html#started

The first inhabitants of the Waco area were the Huaco Indians, who first came to area around 500 AD.http://wacohistoryproject.org/timeline.htmlhttp://www.wacocvb.com/waco-history.asp An Indian trading post was opened around 1844 about eight miles south of the Waco village.http://www.wacocvb.com/waco-history.asp City streets were laid out by surveyor George B. Erath in 1849, with the first lots being sold for $5 each.http://www.wacocvb.com/waco-history.asp Texas was part of the Confederate States of America during the American Civil War, with 2,200 residents fighting for the Confederacy.http://wacohistoryproject.org/timeline.html

Much of downtown Waco was destroyed by a tornado that struck on May 11, 1953.http://wacohistoryproject.org/timeline.html 114 people were killed by the tornado that struck in the late afternoon. http://wacohistoryproject.org/Moments/indian.htm Almost 1,110 people were injured and property damages were estimated at $51 million.http://wacohistoryproject.org/timeline.html

Waco is located on the Brazos River in central Texas, which heads through Texas and into the Gulf of Mexico. http://www.thecityofwaco.com/escape It is at latitude of 31° 34'N and longitude 97° 10'W. http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/city.html?n=905 It is 99 miles south of Arlington and 90 miles south of Dallas.http://www.travelmath.com/driving-distance/from/Waco,+TX/to/Arlington,+TXhttp://www.travelmath.com/driving-distance/from/Waco,+TX/to/Dallas,+TX

The weather is frequently hot and humid during the summer, although the higher temperatures are usually accompanied by lower amounts of humidity.http://www.go-texas.net/Waco/Weather/ There are 109 days with an average temperature of 90F or higher each year and an annual precipitation of 32 inches.http://www.climate-zone.com/climate/united-states/texas/waco/

• Dr Pepper Museum: The Dr Pepper Museum houses the bottling plant built in 1906 to bottle the soda. It also houses memorabilia and artifacts from the cola industry and companies ranging from Pepsi to Kickapoo Joy Juice.http://www.drpeppermuseum.com/About-Us.aspx
• Cameron Park Zoo: The 52-acre zoo is located in one of the largest undeveloped municipal parks in the United States.http://www.thecityofwaco.com/escape/ Exhibits at the zoo include a snake and reptile house and an Asian Forest.http://www.cameronparkzoo.com/
• Baylor University: The Christian college has an enrollment of around 15,000 and had the first campus chapter of Habitat for Humanity.http://www.baylor.edu/about/index.php?id=48867The school’s athletic teams play in the Big 12 Conference.http://www.baylor.edu/about/index.php?id=48867
• Texas Sports Hall of Fame: The brainchild of Beaumont Enterprise sports editor Thad Johnson, the Texas Sports Hall of Fame honors the achievements of professional and amateur athletes from Texas. The inaugural inductee in 1951 was Major League Baseball Hall of Fame player Tris Speaker.http://tshof.org/info/history/
• Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum: The museum is located in downtown Waco and honors members of the state’s law enforcement agency. http://www.wacocvb.com/trip_builder/attractions.aspx?attraction=17

• Steve Martin: Actor and writerhttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000188/
• Jennifer Love Hewitt: Actresshttp://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001349/
• Lance Berkman: Baseball playerhttp://mlb.mlb.com/team/player.jsp?player_id=204020
• LaDainian Tomlinson: National Football League playerhttp://www.nfl.com/players/ladainiantomlinson/profile?id=TOM683150
• Ted Nugent: Musicianhttp://www.mlive.com/news/detroit/index.ssf/2009/08/ted_nugent_fired_waco_newspape.html