Specialty Tours in Waco

Texas State Technical College
3801 Campus Drive
Waco, Texas 76705
(254) 867-4806
waco.tstc.edu

Contact: Chris Groppe

Accommodates: 80 (reservations required for groups of 10 or more)

World Hunger Relief
PO Box 639
Elm Mott, Texas 76640
(254) 799-5611
www.worldhungerrelief.org

Contact: Matt Hess

Accommodates: 60 (reservations required)
Suggested donation: $4 per person, 6 person minimum.

World Hunger Relief trains individuals to work with communities worldwide in developing sustainable farming techniques. Tours are welcomed and can be tailored to the group's needs. The complex includes:, livestock including rabbits, goats, worms, bees and chickens a vegetable garden with veggies for sale to the public on Saturdays, and the Village Store featuring Fairly Traded world crafts and food items.

Some examples of interactive learning opportunities include:

• "Hands on" overview tour of the farm
• Workshops on a variety of topics including, composting, gardening and cooking, these are regularly scheduled but also can be done at the request of groups
• Living On The Other Side -- rural developing world simulation, 8-30 hour program
• Specialty tours for school or church groups
• Tour of developing world appropriate housing and technology

Historical Tours

Living History Tours of Waco©
A division of Americana Heritage Tours by Snobby Tours®, Inc.
(254) 754-8687
(866) 284-8687
www.snobbytours.com/wacotours.html

Contact: Ellen J. Jacobson

Themed heritage tours covering the past 170+ years, guided by a costumed historical re-enactor portraying a character from Waco’s colorful past. Tours include information gathered through personal, written and oral accounts and include some local “legends and lore.”

Captain Thomas Hudson Barron/Mozella Barron Tour
Itinerary Focus: Early settlement of Waco (pre-historic to 1865)
Capt. Barron moved to Texas in 1821, one of the first of Stephen F. Austin’s “Old Three Hundred” colonists. In 1837, while commanding a group of Texas Rangers, he was sent to establish Fort Fisher at Waco Village on the Brazos River. Mozella Barron, one of Captain Barron’s 22 children, was the first non-Native American child born in Waco Village, and grew to see Waco become a thriving frontier town known as “Six Shooter Junction”.

General Sul Ross/Kate Ross Tour
Itinerary Focus: “Six Shooter Junction”/Post Civil War Reconstruction (1865-1890)
Lawrence Sullivan (Sul) Ross was a Brigadier General for the Confederacy during the Civil War. He served as Sheriff of McLennan County, Governor of Texas and later as President of Texas A&M University. Kate Ross was Sul Ross’ sister, and is credited with being the first non-Native American child born within the city limits of Waco.

Jacob De Cordova/Rebecca De Cordova Tour
Itinerary Focus: “The Athens of Texas” (Late 1800’s to 1950)
Jacob De Cordova, was descended from Spanish Jews who fled the Spanish Inquisition. He joined his father, who had moved to Philadelphia then migrated to Texas in 1839. He was elected to the Second Texas Legislature in 1847. He helped compile the first Map of the State of Texas. His wife, Rebecca, was very instrumental in Waco becoming a family-oriented community - urging her husband to set aside free lots in Waco for schools and houses of worship.

Jules Bledsoe/Estella Maxey Tour
Itinerary Focus: African-American Heritage, Culture, and Achievement
Jules Bledsoe, born in Waco near the turn of the century, was a baritone, and a world-renowned opera singer. He debuted in 1924 at New York’s Aeolian Hall, created the role of Joe in Jerome Kern’s “Show Boat” in 1927, sang with the Italian Opera in Holland, and performed in BBC programs in London.
As a child, Estella Maxey was fascinated by the music she heard at Second Baptist Church. She astounded her music teacher with a natural ability, and was proclaimed a musical prodigy.

Neil McLennan Tour
Itinerary Focus: “Around the County – the Famous and Infamous”
Neil McLennan joined George B. Erath in Texas in 1839 on a scouting and surveying trip to the Bosque River. He later returned with his family to settle in the area. McLennan County, was named for this early settler.

James and Hennie Harrison Tour/Hallie Earle Tour
Itinerary Focus: "A Celebration of Days Gone By"
James Edward Harrison was commissioned to deal with the Indians for the state, prior to becoming a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army. After the Civil War, Harrison returned to Waco, where he was prominent in local affairs and in the Baptist church, serving as a trustee of Baylor University.
Hallie Earle, chose an uncommon path for women of her day. Upon graduation from Baylor University, she followed her grandfathers into the practice of medicine. She became the first female physician in McLennan County, opening her office in the Amicable Building, Waco’s newly built skyscraper. She died in 1963, at the age of 83, still the only female physician in Waco.

Texas Guinan Tour
This tour includes a seated dinner at a specially selected restaurant featuring ethnic or regional cuisine or a dinner with wine pairing; plus tickets to a performance by one of Waco’s many cultural arts groups. *(Subject to the schedule of Performing Arts Organizations)
Itinerary Focus: Culture and Cuisine – A Waco sampling
At the age of 14, Mary Louise Cecelia Guinan convinced her parents to allow her to ride the train alone to Chicago to enter a singing contest sponsored by department store owner Marshall Field. She took her first prize money and returned to Waco to finish school and begin her show business career. She starred in New York and Hollywood, appearing in over 200 silent films.