Waco

City in east-central Texas, USA, on the Brazos River, 145 km/91 mi south of Dallas; population (2000) 113,700. It is an agricultural shipping centre for cotton, grain, and livestock; industries include food-processing and the manufacture of aircraft parts, glass, paper, cement, tyres, and textiles.

Named after the local Huaco people, it was founded in 1849 at a ferry point on the Brazos.

An armed siege by federal agents at a ranch of the Branch Davidian religious sect in 1993 lasted 51 days, and resulted in the deaths of four government officers, 72 cult members, and the cult leader David Koresh. In September 1999, work started on a new church to replace the Branch Davidians' temple destroyed by fire during the 1993 confrontation.

Baylor University 1845 contains the Armstrong Browning Library, which features memorabilia and documents relating to the 19th-century poets Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning.