The city had a U. The U. Indigenous peoples occupied areas along the river for thousands of years. In historic times, the area of present-day Waco was occupied by the Wichita Indian tribe known as the " Waco " Spanish: Hueco or Huaco. In , Thomas M. Duke was sent to explore the area after violence erupted between the Waco people and the European settlers.
His report to Stephen F. Austin , described the Waco village: [ 13 ]. This town is situated on the West Bank of the river. They have a spring almost as cold as ice itself. All we want is some Brandy and Sugar to have Ice Toddy. They have about acres 1. I think they cannot raise more than One Hundred Warriors. After further violence, Austin halted an attempt to destroy their village in retaliation. In , he made a treaty with them. The Waco were eventually pushed out of the region, settling north near present-day Fort Worth.
In , they were moved onto a reservation in Oklahoma with other Wichita tribes. In , the Waco received allotments of land and became official US citizens. Erath to inspect the area. Property owners wanted to name the city Lamartine, but Erath convinced them to name the area Waco Village, after the Indians who had lived there. His daughter Kate was the first settler child born in Waco. Because of this, Ross is considered to have been the founder of Waco, Texas.
In , Waco's leading citizens embarked on an ambitious project to build the first bridge to span the wide Brazos River. They formed the Waco Bridge Company to build the foot m brick Waco Suspension Bridge , which was completed in The company commissioned a firm owned by John Augustus Roebling in Trenton , New Jersey, to supply the bridge's cables and steelwork and contracted with Mr.
Thomas M. Griffith, a civil engineer based in New York, for the supervisory engineering work. Some chose to pay the Suspension Bridge toll, while others floated their herds down the river. The population of Waco grew rapidly, as immigrants now had a safe crossing for their horse-drawn carriages and wagons. Since , the bridge has been open only to pedestrian traffic and is in the National Register of Historic Places.
