A commission tasked with updating the city of Waco’s state historical marker at City Hall has abandoned an effort to rank a long list of items of local history in order of importance.
The Waco Historic Landmark Preservation Commission on Tuesday agreed to produce a chronological list of 50 episodes and people in Waco history after a member complained that a subcommittee’s earlier ranking effort underemphasized Black history.
Commission member Jeanette Bell, president of the North East Riverside Neighborhood Association, said the list did not adequately include contributions of Black people to Waco’s history. Bell also raised concern with the ranking system itself, saying that as the only Black representative on the commission, her efforts to prioritize Black history would be outvoted.
Bell
She said the ranking system was too complicated due to the difficulty in ranking 50 different items of historical interest.
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Ultimately, the commission agreed that it was nearly impossible to rank 50 items by importance and opted for a chronological list.
Commission member Stephen Sloan, who heads Baylor University’s Institute for Oral History, said a chronological list is typical for a marker submission, which usually includes a historical narrative of eight to 10 pages.
Once the list is finalized, it will be submitted to the McLennan County Historical Commission, which will review the list before sending it on to the Texas Historical Commission.
The state agency will draft the text for a new marker based on the recommendations.
Members of the city commission said they hoped for a new marker that will contain 200 to 300 words, and be similar to Waco’s other narrative historical marker located at the Texas Ranger Museum.
In October, the Commission formed a subcommittee to draft recommendations for an update to the current marker, which many city officials said was outdated and offered an incomplete look at Waco’s rich history.
The current marker was installed in 1964 at the intersection of Highways 84 and 31 east of town and later moved outside City Hall. The marker consists of only six sentences, or 46 words, and talks of Confederate officers and Paul Quinn College, which is no longer in Waco, while ignoring Dr Pepper, the Suspension Bridge and the deadly 1953 tornado.
The current list includes mention of historical items such as the Waco Indians for whom the city is named, Jacob de Cordova’s platting of the “Waco Village,” the relocations of Paul Quinn College and Baylor University to Waco, the cattle drives through Waco as part of the Chisholm Trail, the completion of the Suspension Bridge, the 1953 tornado, the ALICO Building, the decimation of minority neighborhoods by federal urban renewal, the invention of Dr Pepper and many other items.
Commission President Aubrey Robertson, a local attorney, said more items could be added to the list before it is finalized and submitted to the county by the summer.
In other business at Tuesday’s meeting, the commission approved an application submitted by the owners of the Kestner Building on Elm Avenue seeking to designate the building as a local historic landmark. The building was originally constructed in 1897 and was remodeled in 1914 and long served as a department store until its closure in 2003. The building has been vacant since then.
Scott Kapczynski, a lead architect for Sterling and Kap Architects, said his firm is working with the property owners to develop the land around the building. He said the property owners are hoping to restore and preserve the exterior of the building while revamping the interior to serve as a leased space.
With the application approved by the commission, it will be voted on by the Waco Plan Commission at the March 26 meeting before moving onto final approval by the Waco City Council.
Quinn Campus Inc., City Center Waco and many other community members and leaders gathered Saturday at William Decker Johnson Hall to celebrate its designation as a local historic landmark and look toward a new future for the building that has stood the test of time.
