McLennan County was created in January 22, 1850 and formed from Milam, Navarro and Limestone Counties. McLennan County was named for Neil McLennan, an early settler in the future county. The County Seat is Waco. The Official County website is located at http://www.co.mclennan.tx.us. See also Extended History for more historical details.
PLEASE READ!! Please call the clerk's department to confirm hours, mailing address, fees and other specifics before visiting or requesting information because of sometimes changing contact information.
McLennan County Clerkhas Court Records from 1850 , Land Records from 1850,
and Probate Records from 1853, Marriage Records from 1850 and Birth/Death Records from 1903 is located at P.O.
Box 1727,
Waco, TX 76703-1390; Telephone:
(817) 757-5000. The County Clerk's Office is the record keeper of the county. The county records include birth certificates, death certificates, marriage licenses, brand registrations, DD214s (military discharges), land / real estate / property records, probate and civil filings.
Below is a list of online resources for McLennan County Court Records. Email us with websites containing McLennan County Court Records by clicking the link below:
Texas Immigration & Emigration Records - Immigration records help the family historian to understand the movements of their ancestry as they relocated to different parts of the world.
Click Here to Search Texas Birth, Marriage & Death Records! - Birth, marriage, and death records are connected with central life events. They are prime sources for genealogical information. Look also for baptism, christening, and burial records in this collection.
Vital Records,1100 West 49th Street,
Austin, TX 78756, Please allow up to approximately 6-8 weeks for processing of all type of certificates when ordered through the mail. They have the following records:
Birth Certificates: Birth records maintained by Bureau of Vital Statistics, Dept. of Health since 1903 through the present. For births that occurred within the past 75 years, copies can be requested only by the immediate family of the person whose name is on the birth certificate.
Cost: The cost of a birth record is $22.00. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $22.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Processing Time: 6-8 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Death Certificates: Death records maintained by Bureau of Vital Statistics, Dept. of Health since 1903 through the present.
For deaths that occurred in the past 25 years, copies can be requested only by immediate family members of the deceased.
Cost: The cost of a certified death certificate is $20.00 for the first copy and $3.00 for each additional copy issued at the same time for the same certificate. If no record is found or no copy is made, state law requires that we keep $20.00 for a searching fee. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Processing Time: 6-8 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Marriage & Divorce Certificates: Marriage Verifications from Jan 1966 and Divorce Verifications from Jan 1968. Certified copies of marriage licenses or divorce decrees are only available from the county clerk (marriage) or district clerk (divorce) in the county or district in which the event occurred. Marriage verification or divorce verification letters can now be ordered ELECTRONICALLY
Cost: $20 - Fee is for verification only.
Processing Time: 6-8 weeks when ordered by MAIL or 2-5 Days when you order ELECTRONICALLY
Order Online: You can also order Order Electronically and get the certificates within 2-5 days by ordering below
Order In Person: The certificates may be ordered by coming into this office. If you want the copy the same day, our hours for same day service are 8:00 A.M. until 5:00 P.M. Monday – Friday. The Texas Vital Statistics Office in Austin is located at 1100 W. 49th Street,
Austin, TX 78756.
Order By Mail: Mail a check or money order (no cash) payable to the "Texas Vital Records " along with the necessary information to the following address: Texas Vital Records, Department of State Health Services, PO Box 12040,
Austin TX 78711-2040. Please include return address on envelope and application form.
Search the Social Security Death Index for FREE - Search over 82 million death records and get genealogical information crucial to your family research. New content added weekly! Most comprehensive SSDI site online!
Research Death records In The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of historical Texas newspaper articles about deaths. Search for local articles about an old family friend that died many years ago or a celebrity that committed suicide. Historical newspapers contain a wealth of information about the deceased.
Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-10, 1926-29 - Browse by county, then year, then surname, beginning with the first letters of the last name of the person you seek. If you're unsure of the year or location, use the search box under the browse menu. These records can be searched by father's first and last names, mother's first and maiden names, year, county, and city. The certificates include the child and parents' full names, residence, occupations, age, time and date of the birth, and the name of the physician attending the birth.
Texas Death Certificates, 1890-1976 - These records are searchable by first and last name of the deceased, year, county, and city. A certificate may include the decedent's date, place, and cause of death; age; date of birth; last residence; and marital status. If known, it will also include occupation, birth place, parents' names, and place of burial. Browse by county, then year, then surname, beginning with the first letters of the last name of the person you seek. If unsure of the year or location, use the search box under the browse menu.
Click Here to Search Texas Voter Lists & Census Records! - Few, if any, records reveal as many details about individuals and families as do government census records. Substitute records can be used when the official census is unavailable.
Countywide Records: Federal Population Schedules that exist for McLennan County, Texas are 1850, 1860, 1870, 1880, 1890 (fragment, see below), 1900, 1910, 1920 and 1930. The Texas State Library holds microfilm editions for all of Texas' federal censuses. Although the 1850, 1860, and part of the 1870 mortality schedules have been published, all the original mortality schedules are at the Texas State Library and on microfilm The 1830 territorial census of Miller County, Arkansas, enumerates an area that is in today's Texas boundaries. The remaining 1890 population schedules which exist for Texas include: Ellis County (Justice Precinct 6, Mountain Peak, and Ovilla Precinct); Hood County (Precinct 5); Rusk County (No. 6 and Justice Precinct No. 7); Trinity County (town of Trinity and Justice Precinct 2); and Kaufman County (Kaufman). Although Greer County in present-day Oklahoma functioned as part of Texas between 1886 and 1896, the 1890 census for this county was enumerated under Oklahoma Territory.
Other Federal Schedules to look at when researching your family tree in McLennan County, Texas are Industry and Agriculture Schedules availible for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. Slave Schedules exist for 1850 & 1860. The Mortality Schedules for the years 1850, 1860, 1870 and 1880. There are free downloadable and printable Census forms to help with your research. These include U.S. Census Extraction Forms and U.K. Census Extraction Forms
Below is a list of online resources for McLennan County Census Records. Email us with websites containing McLennan County Census Records by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Atlas has images of old American atlases during the years 1795, 1814, 1822, 1823, 1836, 1838, 1845, 1856, 1866, 1879 and 1897 for Arkansas and other states.
You can view rotating animated maps for Texas showing all the county boundaries for each census year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states at Census Maps
You can view rotating animated maps for Texas showing all the county boundary changes for each year overlayed with past and present maps so you can see the changes in county boundaries. You can view a list of maps for other states and State Department of Transportation Maps at County Maps.
Below is a list of online resources for McLennan County Maps. Email us with websites containing McLennan County Maps by clicking the link below:
Click Here to Search Texas Military Records! - Military and civil service records provide unique facts and insights into the lives of men and women who have served their country at home and abroad.
The uses and value of military records in genealogical research for ancestors who were veterans are obvious, but military records can also be important to re-searchers whose direct ancestors were not soldiers in any war. The fathers, grandfathers, brothers, and other close relatives of an ancestor may have served in a war, and their service or pension records could contain information that will assist in further identifying the family of primary interest. Due to the amount of genealogical information contained in some military pension files, they should never be overlooked during the research process. Those records not containing specific genealogical information are of historic value and should be included in any overall research design.
Below is a list of online resources for McLennan County Military Records. Email us with websites containing McLennan County Military Records by clicking the link below:
Revolutionary War Rolls, 1775-1783 (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents in NARA publication M246 include muster rolls, payrolls, strength returns, and other miscellaneous personnel, pay, and supply records of American Army units, 1775-83.
Southern Claims Commission from the State of Texas (The National Archives): View, Print Copy & Save Original Documents In the 1870s, southerners claimed compensation from the U.S. government for items used by the Union Army, ranging from corn and horses, to trees and church buildings.
Texas tax records constitute one of the most complete sets of available records generated at the county level (by the Commissioners Court) because these documents are maintained by the state. These lists may only include approximately sixty percent of eligible males over the age of twenty-one. Persons exempted from taxes included native Americans, "idiots," "incompetents," and those exempted because of age. This final category of exemptions varied over time. Years without an older age exemption were 1840 and 1862-70. Between 1841-44 exemptions began at forty-five years; in 1845 and from 1850-61 the upward age was set at fifty years. In 1837, 1848, and 1849 the limit was established as fifty-five, and in 1846-7, and 1871 the upward limit was set at sixty years.
Texas Ad Valorem (poll, personal, and real property) tax records for 1836 through 1976 are available in microfilm at the Texas State Library from the date of respective county organization; these are arranged by county and date and are somewhat alphabetized within each division. Microfilm copies are housed in the Genealogy Section. Tax lists for the various counties from creation to 1901 may be borrowed through interlibrary loan. Tax records through 1901-1947 are readily accessible, but not on interlibrary loan. Those for 1948 through 1976 can be obtained upon request.
Below is a list of online resources for McLennan County Tax Records. Email us with websites containing McLennan County Tax Records by clicking the link below:
The Repositories
in this section are Archives, Libraries, Museums, Genealogical
and Historical Societies. Many County Historical and Genealogical
Societies publish magazines and/or news letters on a monthly,
quarterly, bi-annual or annual basis. Contacting the local societies
should not be over looked. State Archives and Societies are
usually much larger and better organized with much larger archived
materials than their smaller county cousins but they can be
more generalized and over look the smaller details that local
societies tend to have. Libraries can also be a good place to
look for local information. Some libraries have a genealogy
section and may have some resources that are not located at
archives or societies. Also, take a special look at any museums
in the area. They sometimes have photos and items from years
gone by as well as information of a genealogical interest. All
these places are vitally important to the family genealogist
and must not be passed over.
Below is a list of online resources for McLennan County Genealogical Addresses. Email us with websites containing McLennan County Genealogical Addresses by clicking the link below:
Central Texas Genealogical Society, Inc., c/o Waco-McLennan County Library, 1717 Austin Avenue, Waco, Texas 76701
[Counties Covered: McLennan, Limestone, Hill, Falls, Milam, Coryell, Bosque]
Texas State Library and Archives Commission, P.O. Box 12927, Austin, TX 78711-2927 Holdings under the auspices of the Texas State Library are divided. Most important for genealogical research are the Texas State Archives with its Local Records Department, the Records Management Division, and the Information Services Division, which includes a Genealogy Section and a Reference Department.
The Genealogy Section maintains vertical ties that contain notes, clippings, pamphlets, and correspondence on Texas families. These files may be accessed in person, by phone (512-463-5463, forty-five minute limit), or through correspondence.
Texas Historical Commision The Texas Historical Commission (THC) is the state agency for historic preservation. THC staff consults with citizens and organizations to preserve Texas' architectural, archeological and cultural landmarks. The agency is recognized nationally for its preservation programs.
Texas Newspapers & Periodicals Records - Newspapers and periodicals are the diaries of local communities. They are excellent sources of family history details - often recorded nowhere else. Look for obituaries, marriages, legal notices, and more found in our Historical Newspaper Archives.
Click Here to Search Texas Obituary Records! - This database is a compilation of obituaries published in U.S. newspapers, collected from various online sources. Obituaries can vary in the amount of information they contain, but many of them are genealogical goldmines, including information such as names, dates, places of birth and death, marriage information, and family relationships.
During Texas's colonization period Roman Catholics were the most numerous, but early citizens included those representing other religious faiths such as Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, and Christian or Disciples of Christ.
Many cemetery records have been collected and transcribed, including the largest of which is multi-volumes compilation by the DAR and two volumes for Peters Colonists and descendants. The DAR collection, also microfilmed, is available at the Texas State Library and through the FHL.
Some Texas county historical and genealogical societies have published local cemetery and/funeral home records. These are normally available for purchase through the respective society. Two references can help determine which cemeteries have been recorded: Kim Parsons', A Reference to Texas Cemetery Records (Humble, Tex.: by author, 1988), arranged by county; and Sharry Crofford-Gould's, Texas Cemetery Inscriptions: A Source Index (San Antonio, Tex.: Limited Editions, 1977).
Below is a list of online resources for McLennan County Cemetery & Church Records. Email us with websites containing McLennan County Cemetery & Church Records by clicking the link below:
Find Obituaries in The World's Largest Newspaper Archive at NewpaperArchive.com! - Find thousands of Texas obituaries to help you research your family history. Search for a Texas newspaper obituary about your ancestor or a celebrity. Begin your search today and find death notices and funeral announcements printed in newspapers from Texas.
Click Here to Search Texas Family Tree Records! - The use of published genealogies, electronic files containing genealogical lineage, and other compiled sources can be of tremendous value to a researcher.
When view family trees online or not, be sure to only take the info at face value and always follow up with your own sources or verify the ones they provide. Below is a list of online resources for McLennan County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information. Email us with websites containing McLennan County Family Trees, web forums and other family type information by clicking the link below:
Genealogy Encyclopedia: General Abbreviations, Early Illnesses, Nickname Meanings, Worldwide Epidemics, Early Occupations, Common Terms, Censuses Explained, Free Genealogical Forms
Nichols and Related Families of Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Florida, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, and Virgina.
Texas Family & Local History Records - The Family & Local Histories Collection lets you read journals, memoirs, and other first-hand historical narratives right on your computer. Gathered from some of the world's finest libraries, these materials may provide hard-to-find town, county, and state information; tax records and wills; military, church, and court records; as well as photographs, stories, and maps.
The central Texas region, including McLennan County, has supported human habitation for several thousand years. Archeological evidence suggests that hunting and gathering peoples established themselves in the area as early as 11,000 years ago. Some of these may have been ancestors of the Tonkawa Indians, who appear to have been native to the region. The Wichita groups moved south from Oklahoma about 1700, and by the early 1800s some Caddo and Delaware Indians were in the area as well. Athanase de Mézières visited the Tawakoni village of Quiscat on the Brazos River in 1779, and Pedro Vial traveled through the area on an expedition in 1786. In 1824 the Indian village at Waco had 500 to 600 residents, but it was abandoned by the mid-1830s. McLennan County was part of the colonization grant obtained by Robert Leftwich from the Mexican government in 1825 and was later part of Robertson's colony. One of the first land grants made in the area of McLennan County was to Thomas Jefferson Chambers on April 26, 1832. Although several surveying expeditions ventured into the county district through the 1830s, permanent settlement was delayed until the 1840s by the threat of Indian raids. A temporary ranger station called Fort Fisher was built near the former Waco Indian village in February 1837, but it was abandoned in June of that year. The Republic of Texas tried to establish local government in the region in 1842 by establishing a judicial district known as Waco County, but later that year the Texas Supreme Court declared such counties unconstitutional. In 1844 and 1845 representatives of the republic held talks with several Indian groups at a site near the Torrey Trading Houses. Following the annexation of Texas by the United States, settlement of the area proceeded rapidly. Plans for a permanent townsite at the former Waco Indian village were made in 1848, when Jacob Raphael de Cordova and several others became involved in a project to sell land in the area at a dollar an acre. The townsite was laid out in 1849, and George B. Erath, one of the surveyors for the project, suggested Waco Village as the name of the settlement, in honor of the previous inhabitants. The sale of town lots was very successful, and a small business district began to develop.
McLennan County was established by the Texas legislature on January 22, 1850, and named for Neil McLennan, one of the early settlers. The county government was organized in August 1850 with Waco as its county seat. The county originally included its present area, as well as the land to the northwest as far as the northern boundary of the Robertson colony; it was reduced to its present size in 1854, when Bosque County was established. Although McLennan County was organized too late to be included in the 1850 census, its population at that time has been estimated at several hundred. Rapid growth was possible because, within two years of the establishment of Waco Village, the frontier was pushed well to the northwest of the area. The Indians who had lived there were moved to a Texas reservation in 1854 and then to Oklahoma in 1859. Aside from Waco, the earliest communities in the county were at Bosqueville and Bold Springs (later called West). Most of the settlers who came to the county before the Civil War were Americans of English, Scottish, and Irish descent who moved from other parts of Texas or from the southern United States. Many of them were well-educated, well-to-do people with money to invest in the establishment of new towns, schools, and churches. The county was divided into school districts in 1854. Early public schools were located near the center of their district and generally carried the same name as the nearby settlement. Districts usually charged tuition to raise money to pay their teachers. Population growth made redistricting necessary in 1867 and again in 1884. Large-scale consolidation of common school districts into independent school districts took place in the 1930s and 1940s. Several private schools, such as the Bosqueville Male and Female College and the Trinity River High School (later Waco University) added to the educational opportunities in the county. Paul Quinn College moved to Waco from Austin in 1881. Waco was also chosen as the site of Baylor University when Waco University and Baylor University at Independence were consolidated in 1886. McLennan Community College was established at Waco in 1965. As in many Texas counties, extensive schooling was for many children a luxury that took second-place to helping on the family farm. As late as 1940 only 14 percent of the population over the age of twenty-five had completed high school. As the job market expanded during the next forty years, so did the percentage of residents who finished school. By 1960 more than 21 percent were high school graduates, and by 1980 the number represented nearly 60 percent of the population over twenty-five.
The Baptist and Methodist churches were among the earliest to be organized in the county. A Methodist church was built in Waco in 1850, and a Baptist church followed in 1851. Episcopal services were held in Waco as early as 1854, but the church was not formally organized until 1868. A Presbyterian church was organized in 1855. Few Catholics lived in McLennan County until after the Civil War, when German and Czech immigrants moved to the area; a Catholic church was built in Waco in 1870. Jewish ceremonies in Waco were celebrated in rented rooms or private homes prior to the establishment of a synagogue in 1871. In the early 1980s the county's 229 churches had an estimated combined membership of 133,771; Southern Baptist, Catholic, and United Methodist were the largest denominations. The 1860 census showed the county's free population to be 3,811; 270 of this number were slaveholders, who owned a total of 2,395 slaves. The land near the Brazos River lent itself well to the establishment of large cotton plantations, while the surrounding prairie land was used primarily for livestock. The 1860 production of the county's 379 farms included 2,300 bales of cotton, 187,800 bushels of corn, 39,200 bushels of wheat, 46,600 cattle, and 22,000 sheep.
Richard Coke represented McLennan County at the Secession Convention in January 1861, and voted for secession; McLennan County voters accepted the ordinance later that year by a margin of 586 to 191. Nevertheless, in spite of the overwhelming support of the county for secession, the mayor of Waco from 1862 to 1866 was a Unionist. Approximately 1,500 men from McLennan County served in the Confederate Army, including six generals: Jerome Bonaparte Robertson, Felix Huston Robertson, Lawrence Sullivan Ross, William H. Parsons, Allison Nelson, and Hiram Bronson Granbury. A company raised by Peter F. Ross served in the Sixth Texas Regiment, and the Lone Star Guards became Company E of the Fourth Texas Infantry of Hood's Texas Brigade. The city of Waco was occupied by federal troops for a short time in 1868, and as in many instances in the South, clashes between federal soldiers and local residents led to considerable ill-feeling. During the Reconstruction period, the district judge and the county commissioners arrested each other, the judge citing the commissioners for contempt, and the commissioners charging the judge with lunacy; all charges were dropped. Election returns for 1869 showed McLennan County voters choosing Edmund J. Davis for governor over Andrew J. Hamilton by a vote of 797 to 606, but in the Congressional election held two years later, the Democratic candidate, Dewitt C. Giddings, carried the county by a vote of 1,520 to 1,162. Waco lawyer Richard Coke was elected governor in 1873. In presidential politics McLennan County was staunchly Democratic from the end of Reconstruction until the 1970s, the only exception being a 5,744 to 5,330 vote for Herbert Hoover over Al Smith in 1928. In recent years McLennan County voters have preferred the Republican presidential candidate, choosing Richard Nixon in 1972, Ronald Reagan in 1980 and 1984, and George Bush in 1988 and 1992.
Like most areas in the South, McLennan County suffered a severe economic decline immediately following the Civil War and throughout the Reconstruction period. Between 1863 and 1866 the county experienced a 73 percent loss in property tax receipts. A little more than 38 percent of the total property loss was in slaves; the rest came from declines in total farm acreage, farm value, and livestock value, each of which fell 45 to 70 percent by the time of the 1870 census. Recovery was slow because transportation was poor and the economy was so dependent on agriculture. After the war many former slaves remained in the area, some choosing to continue working for former owners, some finding employment in Waco, and still others establishing communities such as Downsville and Harrison. By 1870 the black population in the county had increased to 4,627, slightly more than a third of the total number of residents. Over the course of the next several decades the number of blacks in the county increased steadily, although the number of white immigrants was such that blacks as a percentage of the total population fell from 29 percent in 1880 to 16 percent in 1960. The percentage remained constant through the 1980s. The McLennan County economy began to show signs of recovery by the late 1870s, mainly as a result of northern capital, improved transportation, and the influx of European immigrants. The completion of the Waco Suspension Bridge in 1870 provided a reliable means of crossing the Brazos River and made Waco a major center for trade. The Waco and Northwestern Railroad passed through Waco in 1872, laying track from Bremond to Ross and thereby giving McLennan County access to markets through the Houston and Texas Central.
The overall population of the county rose from 13,500 in 1870 to 26,037 by 1880, and the census reported 3,256 farms in 1880, up from 937 ten years earlier. Many of the county's large plantations were divided into small farms and leased to tenants in the years immediately following the Civil War; other farms were broken up and sold for taxes. Immigrants from other states, as well as European countries, were able to take advantage of the availability of land and start new farms of their own. Farm acreage in the county in 1880 totalled 405,115 acres, an increase of 300 percent over pre-war numbers. Production in 1880 included 197,520 bushels of wheat, 515,648 bushels of corn, and 12,777 bales of cotton; among the county's livestock were 30,000 cattle, 12,500 hogs, and 25,000 sheep. More railroads reached McLennan County in the 1880s, making Waco a principal junction. The Gulf, Colorado and Santa Fe completed its track between Temple and Fort Worth in 1881; the Texas and St. Louis connected Waco with Corsicana in 1881 and with Gatesville in 1882; also in 1882 the Missouri, Kansas and Texas laid track between Hillsboro and Taylor, and the Texas Central connected Ross and Albany; and finally, in 1889 the San Antonio and Aransas Pass laid track from Waco to Lott. The International and Great Northern Railroad laid track between Marlin and Waco in 1902 and between Waco and Fort Worth in 1903. An electric interurban line, which was completed between Waco and Dallas in 1913, provided convenient and inexpensive passenger service until improved highways in the 1940s put it out of business. With the railroads came new towns such as McGregor, Moody, Crawford, Lott, Bellmead, Hewitt, Riesel, Battle, Leroy, and Axtell; other towns, like West, Eddy, Mart, Hallsburg, and Elm Mott, were already in existence when the railroads built through and profited from the increased economic opportunity; still other communities, like Perry, Mastersville, and Elk were bypassed by the railroads and faded as their populations were drawn to more convenient locations. In 1890 the population of the county was 39,204; by the turn of the century it had risen to 59,772.
Cotton was the dominant feature of McLennan County agriculture from the 1880s to the 1950s. As the cotton market recovered after Reconstruction, farmers new to the McLennan County area began cultivating the black, waxy soil in the eastern sections and found that cotton grew well there. By 1890 the county had several hundred thousand dollars invested in cotton mills, cotton compresses, and cottonseed oil works; nearly every town on the railroad had at least one cotton gin to accommodate area farmers. In 1890 farmers planted cotton on more than 73,000 acres, nearly a quarter of the county's improved land, and produced 30,000 bales; in 1910 the 240,000 acres planted in cotton represented half of the county's improved acreage, and the crop yielded 69,000 bales. The Cotton Palace held an exhibition and carnival in 1894 intended to be an annual event. It burned in early 1895, but was reestablished in 1910; it continued until 1930, with a twenty-one year attendance of more than eight million. In the first quarter of the twentieth century many rural blacks moved to Waco, attracted by the prospect of better schools and better paying jobs. Most settled in black neighborhoods in east Waco. An educated black middle class began to emerge during these years and was possibly perceived as a threat to the established white society. Several lynchings occurred in the county between 1905 and 1919, and the increased intolerance of blacks, as well as Catholics and Jews, permitted the emergence of a strong Ku Klux Klan in the early 1920s. Klan activities in McLennan County peaked in 1923 with a parade of 2,000 klansmen in Waco, but the organization soon began to lose popularity because of its violence. During the 1910s and 1920s, when large numbers of Mexican nationals immigrated to the United States, hundreds made their way to McLennan County in search of work. According to the census of 1900 only 100 McLennan County residents were natives of Mexico, but by 1930 Mexican Americans in the county numbered more than 4,100, or 4 percent of the total population. Some became tenant farmers or sharecroppers, while others became part of a migratory labor force that helped to sustain the county's cotton-dependent economy. Mexican Americans made up 4 percent of the county's population through the 1950s, but the percentage began to rise in the 1960s and 1970s, as more people immigrated to join family and friends already in the area. By 1987 the number of Mexican Americans in McLennan County had risen to 18,872, 10 percent of the county's population.
World War I brought Army Camp MacArthur and Rich Field to Waco in 1917, and the resulting growth in business and population shifted the urban/rural balance of the county. For the first time the number of people living in cities and towns was greater than the number of people living in the country. Waco's population doubled in the late 1910s, and support services grew rapidly to meet the demand of the larger population. Because many soldiers chose to live in Waco after the war, expansion continued in the peacetime economy. Although agriculture continued to dominate the county, industry was gaining a foothold. In addition to small manufacturers who were already prospering in the towns, several large businesses moved into the area to take advantage of the ready access to markets offered by Waco. The Barton Dyanshine factory, at one time the world's largest shoe polish manufacturer, was established in Waco in 1919 and remained until 1927, when it was moved to St. Louis. The Borden company, which bottled and distributed milk, and the Atlas Portland Cement Company, later a subsidiary of United States Steel, opened in Waco in 1929. The Great Depression of the 1930s, complicated by severe drought conditions in much of the area, slowed the county's growth considerably. Cotton prices fell from 18 cents a pound to 5 cents between 1928 and 1931. Some city residents moved to the country to find food; some rural residents moved to the city to find work. Waco's population increased by only 2½ percent between 1930 and 1940; the county as a whole grew by only 3 percent. The Work Projects Administration funded several construction projects, such as Tonkawa Park at Crawford and University High School in Waco. Highway and bridge building projects also provided work, although much of it was unskilled.
The United States entry into World War II brought an end to the depression and spurred McLennan County's industrial growth. During the course of the war the army established the Bluebonnet ordnance plant at McGregor and the Waco Army Airfield (later renamed James Connally Air Force Base) at Waco. The Army Air Corps also leased the municipal airport that Waco had started building near China Spring and turned the facility into the Blackland Army Air Field. New companies were established in the Waco area to help the war effort, and they, along with many existing industries and manufacturers, profited from government contracts. Between the beginning of the war and December 1944 the federal government spent $42 million on the construction and maintenance of facilities in McLennan County and $119 million for supply contracts with local businesses. The industrialization that took place in the 1940s and 1950s diversified the county's economic interests and prompted a change in the agricultural system. Many rural residents, most of them tenant farmers, gave up their farms and moved to the city in search of industry jobs. Much of the agricultural emphasis was shifted from small family farms to larger commercial establishments and from cotton to more diverse crops. Between the 1930s and the 1960s the number of farms fell sharply, and the average farm size rose from 88.7 acres to 259.3 acres. The number of tenant farmers, who had accounted for a sizeable portion of the farming operations in the county since Reconstruction days, began to decline. In 1930 tenants operated 4,752 farms, more than 70 percent of the farms in the county; by 1950 they numbered only 1,288, or one-third of the county's farmers. This trend continued well into the 1980s, with less than 10 percent of the county's 1,977 farms being operated by tenants in 1987.
In the years following World War II Waco and McLennan County experienced a resurgence of population growth, and the transition to a peacetime economy went fairly smoothly. In 1950 130,194 people resided in McLennan County; 65 percent of that total lived in Waco. The county, and especially Waco, experienced a serious setback in May 1953, when a tornado struck the downtown area. Several city blocks were flattened, leaving 144 people dead and 1,097 injured. Several hundred homes, cars, and businesses were damaged or completely destroyed, and many buildings had to be razed. The property damage amounted to $51 million. The 1960s found McLennan County facing several problems: the closure of the Connally Air Force Base in 1966 left many people out of work; integration of schools prompted "white flight" to suburban areas such as Hewitt, Woodway, Beverly Hills, and Robinson; and the decline of the railroad led to a corresponding decline in several small towns. The decade did bring improvements, however. Among these were several urban renewal projects, the construction of Interstate Highway 35, the establishment of McLennan Community College, the enlargement of Lake Waco, and the establishment of the Texas State Technical College-Waco. A new interest in local history prompted the reconstruction of Fort Fisher as the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum and the renovation of the suspension bridge. In the early 1980s 76 percent of the land in the county was devoted to agriculture. Cotton, corn, oats, and wheat were the primary crops, accounting for 90 percent of the 310,000 acres harvested; other crops were sorghum, hay, potatoes, tomatoes, and watermelon. Nearly 60 percent of the county's agricultural receipts came from livestock and livestock products, the most important ones being turkeys, cattle, milk, sheep, wool, angora goats, mohair, and hogs. Industries in the county surpassed agriculture in terms of income and number of people employed, but the two spheres were closely interrelated. Poultry processing, manufacture of prepared feeds, and dairy production were among the county's important businesses. Other large employers included professional and related services, wholesale and retail trade, finance, insurance, and real estate. McLennan County had 170,755 residents in 1980, a 15 percent increase over the 1970 population of 147,553, and the population in 1990 was 189,123.
Texas Birth Certificates, 1903-10, 1926-29