Hidden History of Waco

by Eric S. Ames

Since its establishment in 1849, Waco has grown from a frontier town on the Brazos River to a thriving city of more than 125,000 residents. And in those 171 years, Waco's citizens have seen triumph, tragedy, humor, heartbreak and infamy. Some of those stories garnered widespread attention or became established local lore, but many more have fallen through the cracks. Catch up on the backstory of notorious figures like W.C. Brann, firebrand publisher of the Iconoclast. Discover how one of the longest novels published in the English language was written by a wealthy recluse in a downtown mansion. From the artesian wells of "Geyser City" to the tombs of Telephus Telemachus Louis Augustus Albartus "Tel" Johnson, author Eric Ames offers a chance for a deeper appreciation of Waco's unique history.

131 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 31, 2020

Reviews

[Abram Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fairly short history of Waco TX hitting some of the more interesting points and figures or Waco's history. A great read for someone looking to learn more about the unique big little city that is Waco. Also I'm probably biased because I recently had the pleasure of attending a dinner where I was seated at the same table as the author.

[Zachary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've really been trying to delve into local and Texas history this year, just to get more of a feel for the context and culture of my chosen state. As such, I was really looking forward to this--I've been in Waco long enough to be familiar with big and important names and events, and so I'd hoped that this was going to introduce me to more and more interesting pieces of the city. There were a few tidbits and parts of chapters that were pretty interesting, to be fair. But a lot of this was history that wasn't really quite hidden so much as not talked about in a while, which isn't the same thing. It also used a lot of secondary sources that themselves were doing original history reporting, so it almost felt like cribbing from someone else's homework to make the stories pop. What was good about this book was really quite good, but what wasn't truly did feel kind of warmed over. And ending with a chapter of random photographs with no real explanation as to what they were didn't feel like an overture to the enduring mystery of a place's history so much as an attempt at this that didn't quite land.