n.
City (pop., 2000: 113,726), north-central Texas, U.S. Located on the Brazos River , it was founded in 1849 on the site of an Indian village.
After 1865 it became a river-bridge crossing on cattle trails; later its economy was based on cotton. Its diversified economy now includes manufacturing and tourism. A tornado devastated Waco in 1953, killing 114 persons. On April 19, 1993, after a 51-day standoff with U.S. federal agents, some 80 members of the Branch Davidians religious sect perished in a fire at their compound nearby.