Lake Waco

Research Ready: December 2017

American West, Amicable Alico Building, Belton Texas, Books, Charles Wellborn, Cowboys, El Paso, Hippodrome, Lake Waco, letters, military history, Photographs, Research Ready, Texas, United States Armed Forces, University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Waco, West, World War II
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Each month, we post an update to notify our readers about the latest archival collections to be processed and some highlights of our print material acquisitions. These resources are primed for research and are just a sampling of the many resources to be found at The Texas Collection!

December’s finding aids
By Paul Fisher, Processing Archivist

  • Letter from Charles Wellborn to Elma Merle Mears McClellan Duncan
    Letter from Charles Wellborn, student at Baylor and future evangelist and pastor, to the Armed Services Representative for Baylor University. In the letter, Wellborn describes drilling for the past week, after enlisting in the United States Army in July 1943.

    • BU Records: Armed Services Representatives, 1942-1945, undated (#BU/12): Collection contains correspondence sent by former students, parents, and government officials to Merle Mears McClellan, Baylor University’s Armed Services Representative during World War II. Baylor President Pat Neff appointed McClellan as the acting liason between the university and the military, in conjunction with Baylor University becoming a training site for Army officers prior to World War II.

 

 

 

 

 

 

December’s print materials
By Amie Oliver, Librarian and Curator of Print Materials

Cunningham, Eugene. Famous in the West. El Paso, TX: Hicks-Hayward Co., [1926]. Print.

Cunningham, Eugene. Famous in the West. El Paso, TX: Hicks-Hayward Co., [1926]. Print. 

Originally published in El Paso as an advertisement for Rodeo Outdoor Clothes, this volume contains info on cowboys such as “Jim” Gillett, Dallas Stoudenmire, Billy the Kid, and Tom Threepersons. Click here to view in BearCat.

 

 

 

 

 

College, Belton: For Women. [Belton, TX?]: [publisher not identified], [between 1925 and 1929?]. Print.

College, Belton: For Women. [Belton, TX?]: [publisher not identified], [between 1925 and 1929?]. Print. 

The purpose of this volume is two-fold. The many photographs of the grounds and student body show a beautiful, thriving Baylor College campus while the new development campaign seeks $500,000 to pay university debts and $250,000 to build a permanent endowment. Click here to view in BearCat.

 

 

 

 

Waco 52 Playing Cards. [Waco, TX]: [publisher not identified], [2017]. Print.

Waco 52 Playing Cards. [Waco, TX]: [publisher not identified], [2017]. Print. 

Though not a traditional book, this set of playing cards is unique to Waco. Each card is designed by a different artist and contains images of locations throughout the city, including the ALICO building, Waco Suspension Bridge, Hippodrome, Lake Waco, etc. Click here to view in BearCat.

Texas over Time: Lake Waco

Bosque River, Lake Waco, Texas over Time, Waco
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Texas has changed quite a bit over the years, as is readily seen in our vast photograph and postcard collections. To help bring some of those changes to life, we’ve created a “Texas over Time” series of GIFs that will illustrate the construction and renovations of buildings, changing aerial views, and more. Our collections are especially strong on Waco and Baylor images, but look for some views beyond the Heart of Texas, too.

Lake-Waco-GIF

  • Lake Waco was originally created by a dam on the Bosque River in 1930 that cost $2.5 million.
  • The dam was rebuilt in 1964 for a cost of $48 million. Then-Senator Lyndon B. Johnson presided over the groundbreaking that was truncated due to a severe thunderstorm. The new dam was 140 feet high and expanded the lake to a surface area of 7,000 acres.
  • All of the land for the lake expansion was acquired through a willing-seller willing-buyer basis at contemporary market rates. Eminent domain was not used.
  • The lake sits on land that is made up of limestone, shale, and chalk deposits. The lake, as well as the area immediately around it, is an archaeologically significant site, as artifacts from several thousands of years of Native American habitation have been found there, as well as artifacts from early European settlement of the McLennan County area.

Sources:

Lake Waco Clippings 1930-1961 vertical file, The Texas Collection, Baylor University.

Scott, Ann M., Karl W. Kibler, and Marie E. Blake. “National Register Testing of Nine Archeological Sites at Waco Lake, McLennan County, Texas.” Austin: Prewitt and Associates, 2002.

If you’re interested in learning more about efforts to control Texas rivers, join us on October 22 to hear Kenna Lang Archer’s presentation on her book, Unruly Waters, which explores the history of the Brazos River.

See all of the images in our Flickr set. GIF and factoids by Braxton Ray, archives student assistant.

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