Waco Area Information
PopulationWaco - 120,465 (2005 est.)
McLennan county 222,439 (est.)
Average annual rainfall: 33.33 inches
The City of Waco has a total area of 95.5 sq. mi. of which 11.3 sq. mi. (11.85%) is water. Perfect for those who love boating, fishing and skiing. 7000 acre Lake Waco and the Brazos and Bosque Rivers are the local bodies of water.
Waco boasts 35 city parks including 416 acre Cameron Park, home to mountain biking & hiking trails, bridle paths, horseshoe pits, sand volleyball courts and scenic disc golf courses, and of course Cameron Park Zoo.
Waco's Historic Suspension Bridge
In the days of the old West, Waco was known as Six Shooter Junction because of the many gunfights that once took place downtown. The Suspension Bridge was the first to span the Brazos River and was, at its completion in 1870, the longest single span suspension bridge west of the Mississippi River. The bridge is located in the heart of downtown Waco and is flanked by two city parks on either side of the river. Nearby is the Alico Building, once the tallest building west of the Mississippi and south of the Mason-Dixon Line until 1929. Waco history is full of many fascinating events.
The Alico was one of the few buildings that survived the tornado that nearly leveled downtown Waco on May 11, 1953. According to local legend, tornadoes could not touch down in Waco. The 1953 storm, however, traveled against the prevailing winds, and the tornado approached Waco from the south-southwest and at 4:36 p.m. the funnel cloud, over two blocks wide, hit the downtown area. No deadlier single tornado has struck the US since then, making it the worst storm of the last 50 years and counting. The storm was one of the primary factors spurring development of a nationwide severe weather warning system.