Waco

 August 3, 2021

Waco

Kathy is a big fan of the TV show “Fixer Upper” (and a plethora of other HGTV programs). The show hosted by Chip and Joanna Gaines features the couple finding and reconditioning old homes in the Waco, Texas area and has become a massive hit. The couple has since taken on the task of basically doing the same thing to the city of Waco in general, starting with the massive reclamation project in the heart of the industrial downtown known as Magnolia Market at the Silos and Kathy really wanted to stop in Waco to check it out.

Magnolia Market, is a shopping complex that encompasses two city blocks in downtown. It is marked by two 120’ high silos, built in 1950 as part of the Brazos Valley Cotton Oil Company. The Brazos Valley Cotton Oil Mill Company closed in 1958, and the silos ceased to serve as storage in the 1990s. The grounds opened to the public in October, 2015. 

The grounds include a 12,000 sq. ft. retail store located in the historic grain barn and office building, a food truck park with picnic tables, a garden store, bakery, food trucks and other retail outlets and a large lawn area.  It has become a tourist mecca and was pretty crowded even in spite of the intense heat of a summer day it Texas.

There is good news and bad news about the market, first is it was ultimately disappointing, sort of bland and sterile, overpriced and overcrowded. The good news however is that it seems to have revitalized downtown Waco, which has some cool restaurants, shops, breweries and more so it serves its purpose. We did in fact enjoy the area surrounding the Magnolia Market much more than the place itself as we visited a few breweries and shops all within walking distance of our hotel.

We also visited another unexpected gem when we took in the Dr. Pepper Museum, which is also located right downtown in Waco. The Dr Pepper Museum is located in the Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company building. It opened to the public in 1991. The building was the first building to be built specifically to bottle Dr Pepper. It was completed in 1906, and Dr Pepper was bottled there until the 1960s. The museum has three floors of exhibits, a working old-fashioned soda fountain, and a gift store of Dr Pepper memorabilia.

Dr Pepper is the oldest major manufacturer of soft drink concentrates and syrups in the United States. Dr Pepper is America’s unique flavor and was created, manufactured and sold beginning in 1885 and the museum is dedicated to the history and is really quite cool and interesting, just like the history of the drink itself. Dr Pepper is a “native Texan,” originating at Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store. It is the oldest of the major brand soft drinks in America. 

Like its flavor, the origin of Dr Pepper is out-of-the-ordinary. Charles Alderton, a young pharmacist working at Morrison’s store, is believed to be the inventor of the now famous drink. Alderton spent most of his time mixing up medicine for the people of Waco, but in his spare time he liked to serve carbonated drinks at the soda fountain. He liked the way the drug store smelled, with all of the fruit syrup flavor smells mixing together in the air. He decided to create a drink that tasted like that smell. He kept a journal, and after numerous experiments he finally hit upon a mixture of fruit syrups that he liked.

On our way out of Waco, I wanted to stop at the site of one of the great tragedies of my lifetime, the Branch Davidian Compound, Mount Carmel which is located about 13 miles from Waco near a small rural community know as Axtell, Texas. The Waco Siege is burned into my memory as I remember watching on live television over the course of a few weeks in April of 1993 as the US Government laid siege to the cult of Branch Davidians led by their cult leader David Koresh.

The 51 day siege eventually led to the FBI launching an assault and a tear gas attack in an attempt to force the Branch Davidians out of the ranch. Shortly thereafter, the Mount Carmel Center became engulfed in flames. The fire resulted in the deaths of 76 Branch Davidians, including 25 children, two pregnant women, and David Koresh himself.

Today the site is very different, though still actively run by a creepy, small group of Branch Davidians. The original remains of the burned-out compound have been scraped away and a small church has been built on the site. The only things that remain are the swimming pool, which has turned into something of a stagnant pond and the scattered remains of a buried school bus where some Davidians took shelter. The church is filled with cult-like displays and there was a true believer inside who preached the crazy gospel to all who visit, as the site remains open to the curious public.

https://magnolia.com/visit/

https://drpeppermuseum.com/