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–Not graded
History · Waco

Waco’s post office opened in 1884

Most of Waco was built recently: 4% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1983. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1958 on, and the census since 1890.

1884first post office
0on the National Register
4%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Waco’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Waco began

When was Waco founded?

1884

The Waco post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Dean (1881) and Wacoville (1883), opened inside today’s city and later closed.

First census: 357 in 18902020 census: 536142 years
Founding year: the first Waco post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Waco’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Shrank, then grewLost a third of its people between 1890 and 1930, then more than doubled.Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Waco.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Waco’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Waco’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPhotograph of Courtney Hodges and infan…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Waco, census by census

01002003004005006001900192019401960198020002020357 in 1890Low: 208

Lost a third of its people between 1890 and 1930, then more than doubled.

14 censuses, 1890–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Waco’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices

Waco’s post office has been open since 1884. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Dean
1881–1883
Wacoville
1883–1884
Waco
1884–today
18801950today

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

The story

How Waco came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Waco.

Read it all →

The Georgia General Assembly incorporated Waco in 1885. Waco is a name derived from the Muskogean language meaning "heron".

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Waco, 1881 to 2020

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1881Post officeThe Dean post office opens
  3. 1883Post officeThe Dean post office closes
  4. 1883Post officeThe Wacoville post office opens
  5. 1884Post officeThe Wacoville post office closes
  6. 1884Post officeThe Waco post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1900In the archivePhotograph of Courtney Hodges and infantry encampment
  9. 1958On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 21st century
  11. 2020CensusPopulation peaks at 536
By decade

Waco, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1900s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1900s2 items
Photograph of Courtney Hodges and infantry encampment1900Photograph of Courtney Hodges and infantry encampmentPomological Watercolor POM000037401904Pomological Watercolor POM00003740
1910s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Today8 recent
Water tower2026Water towerWaco Lodge No 1492026Waco Lodge No 149Waco Baptist Church2026Waco Baptist ChurchWaco Baptist Church Cemetery2026Waco Baptist Church CemeteryRailroad tracks2026Railroad tracksPost Office2026Post OfficeCity Hall and Library2026City Hall and LibraryGAMap-doton-Waco2005GAMap-doton-Waco
On the map

Waco on the map, 1958 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Waco. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Waco on the 1958 USGS mapWaco on the 1973 USGS mapWaco on the 1982 USGS map1958Carrollton sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Waco.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Photograph of Courtney Hodges and infantry encampment
Retake this viewPhotograph of Courtney Hodges and infantry encampment, 1900

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Waco’s page.

Retake this view · +15
Famous people

Famous people close to Waco

Nobody well known was born in Waco itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Sterling HollowayAmerican actor · b. 1905
Asa Griggs CandlerAmerican mayor and businessman · b. 1851
Jae CrowderAmerican basketball player · b. 1990
Sam HuntAmerican singer and songwriter · b. 1984
Priscilla KellyAmerican professional wrestler · b. 1997
T
Thomas A. DorseyAmerican musician, composer, and Christian evan… · b. 1899
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

BremenIts storyC−

Questions about Waco’s history

What year was Waco founded?

The Waco post office opened in 1884, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (10), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.