Snobby Tours ®, Inc. LIVING HISTORY TOURS OF WACO© A "Wild Over Waco" ("WOW") Tourism Initiative™ Guided themed heritage tours covering the past 170+ years, gathered through personal stories, written records, oral accounts, and even some local "legends and lore". EACH OF THE TOURS LISTED BELOW WILL BE GUIDED BY A COSTUMED HISTORICAL RE-ENACTOR, PORTRAYING A CHARACTER FROM WACO’S COLOURFUL PAST. LISTING OF TOURS (1) CAPTAIN THOMAS BARRON / MOZELLA BARRON TOUR (Historical Time Frame: Pre-Historic to 1865) Born in Kentucky in 1796, Capt. Thomas Barron was active in the defense of the frontier for his entire life. He moved to Texas in 1821, one of the first of Stephen F. Austin’s “Old Three Hundred” colonists. In 1837, while commanding a group of Texas Rangers, he was sent to establish Fort Fisher at Waco Village on the Brazos River. This reconstructed fort now serves as the headquarters of Company F of the Texas Rangers and the Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum. Barron went on to settle in Waco, where he opened a steam mill, served as the first Court Clerk of McLennan County, and the County tax assessor-collector. Born in 1850, Mozella Barron was one of Capt. Barron’s 22 children. She was the first non-Native American child born in Waco Village, and grew to see Waco become a thriving frontier town known as “Six Shooter Junction”. Basic Tour: 4 hours, including lunch Focus Group: Adults/Student Groups Itinerary Focus: Early settlement of Waco (pre-historic to 1865) Included with the Basic Tour: Texas Ranger Hall of Fame Expanded Tour: 7 hours, including lunch Additional Attractions Available For Expanded Tour: Mayborn Museum Complex Bill and Vera Daniel Historic Village Mammoth Dig (opening in 2009) Cameron Park/Cameron Park Zoo OR Lake Waco Wetlands (2) GENERAL SUL ROSS / KATE ROSS TOUR (Historical Time Frame: Post-Civil War Reconstruction, 1865-1890) An early native Wacoan, General Lawrence Sullivan (Sul) Ross, was a Brigadier General for the Confederacy during the Civil War. He served as Sheriff of McLennan County, claiming to have jailed 700 outlaws in two years. While Governor of Texas, Ross was the first Governor to actually occupy the Capitol Building. He later served as President of Texas A&M University, and to this day, is one of the most admired figures in Waco history. Born in 1851, Kate Ross was Sul Ross’ sister, and is credited with being the first non-Native American child born within the city limits of Waco. In 1867, Kate was one of only 8 women to graduate from Waco University, which in 1863 had become the first institution in Texas, and one of the few in the nation, to open its doors to co-education. Very sociable, she was honored as Waco’s favorite hostess when the Suspension Bridge was dedicated in 1870. Basic Tour: 4 hours, including lunch Focus Group: Adults/Student Groups Itinerary Focus: “Six Shooter Junction”/ Post Civil War Reconstruction (1865-1890) Included with the Basic Tour: One Historic Waco Foundation Museum Home The Dr Pepper Museum Expanded Tour: 7 hours, including lunch Additional Attraction Available For Expanded Tour: Homestead Heritage (3) JACOB DE CORDOVA / REBECCA DE CORDOVA TOUR (Historical Time Frame: Mid-1800's to present) Born near Kingston, Jamaica in 1808, Jacob De Cordova, was descended from Spanish Jews who fled the Spanish Inquisition and came to the New World with Christopher Columbus. Educated in England, he spoke five languages fluently. After he reached adulthood, De Cordova joined his father, who had moved to Philadelphia. He migrated to Texas in 1839, and was elected to the Second Texas Legislature in 1847. Thereafter, he traveled extensively throughout Texas, acquiring large amounts of land, including what is now Waco. He helped compile the Map of the State of Texas, first published in 1849. De Cordova was persuaded to establish a town at Waco Indian Village. His wife, Rebecca, was very instrumental in Waco becoming a family-oriented community. It was Rebecca who urged her husband to set aside free lots in Waco for schools and houses of worship, which he did once Waco was named the seat of the newly-formed McLennan County. Basic Tour: 4 hours, including lunch Focus Group: Adults/Student Groups Itinerary Focus: “The Athens of Texas” (Mid-1800’s to 1950) Included with the Basic Tour: Historic Houses of Worship and Schools (First Baptist Church, St. Francis Catholic Church, First Presbyterian Church, and Temple Rodef Shalom) Baylor University Campus Armstrong-Browning Library Expanded Tour: 7 hours, including lunch Additional Attractions Available For Expanded Tour: The Art Center (William Cameron Home) McLennan Community College Campus (4) JULES BLEDSOE / ESTELLA MAXEY TOUR (Historical Time Frame: Early to Mid- 20th Century) With the gift of a rich baritone voice, Jules Bledsoe, born in 1897, was a world-renowned opera singer and composer. While a medical student at Columbia University, he began taking voice lessons. He debuted in 1924 at New York City's Aeolian Hall, singing compositions by Handel and Bach. He is best known for creating the role of Joe in Jerome Kern’s “Show Boat” in 1927. During his illustrious career, he also sang with the Italian Opera, made movies, and performed in BBC programs in London. As a child, Estella Maxey was fascinated by the music she heard at Second Baptist Church. She astounded her music teacher with a natural ability, and was proclaimed a musical prodigy. In addition to playing by ear, she also learned to read music, and eventually taught piano lessons. During the Great Depression, she organized an orchestra, “Stella and her Boys”, which performed for society parties, as well as in nightclubs. Stella bridged the gap between the races, and was well respected by the entire Waco community. Basic Tour: 4 hours, including lunch Focus Group: Adults/Student Groups Itinerary Focus: African-American Heritage, Culture, and Achievement Included with the Basic Tour: Historic African-American Houses of Worship Historic Elm Street District Paul Quinn Campus Expanded Tour: 7 hours, including lunch Additional Attractions Available For Expanded Tour: Texas Sports Hall of Fame McLennan County Courthouse (5) NEIL McLENNAN TOUR (Historical Time Frame: Late-1800's to present) Born on the Isle of Skye in 1777, Neil McLennan emigrated from Scotland to the U.S. in 1801. Although he sailed from Florida to Texas on a three-masted schooner, the Caledonia, in 1834, and joined George B. Erath in 1839 on a scouting and surveying trip to the Bosque River near present day Waco, he did not bring his family to settle in the area until 1845. His double log cabin on the South Bosque, with its airy “dog trot” hallway down the center, was a famous landmark. He and his family were hospitable to new settlers, often inviting them to stay at the cabin until their homes were finished. Waco is the seat of McLennan County, so named for this early settler. Basic Tour: 4 hours, including lunch Focus Group: Adults/Student Groups Itinerary Focus: “Around the County – the Famous and Infamous” Included with the Basic Tour: Oakwood Cemetery Heritage Square Area "Two-Street" Area Expanded Tour: 7 hours, including lunch Additional Attractions Available For Expanded Tour: Improved Order of Red Men Museum (National Headquarters) Masonic Grand Lodge Lee Lockwood Library Scottish Rite Museum (6) JAMES and HENNIE HARRISON / HALLIE EARLE TOUR (Historical Time Frame: Late 1880's to early 1960's) Fluent in the Choctaw and Creek Indian languages, James Edward Harrison was commissioned to deal with the Indians for the state, prior to becoming a Brigadier General in the Confederate Army. After the Civil War, Harrison returned to Waco, where he was prominent in local affairs and in the Baptist church, serving as a trustee of Baylor University. After the Civil War, his wife Hennie helped her husband to build a plantation house at Tehuacana Retreat, now on land belonging to the Tehuacana Creek Winery. Hallie Earle, chose none of the common paths for women upon graduation from Baylor University, and instead followed both of her grandfathers into the practice of medicine. She became the first female physician in McLennan County, opening her office in the Amicable Building, Waco’s newly-built skyscraper. She died in 1963, at the age of 83, still the only female physician in Waco. Basic Tour: 4 hours, including lunch Focus Group: Adults/Student Groups Itinerary Focus: "A Celebration of Days Gone By" Included with the Basic Tour: The Earle-Harrison House and the breathtaking Pape Gardens Amicable Building Warehouse District Expanded Tour: 7 hours, including lunch Additional Attractions Available for Expanded Tour: Wine Tasting and Touring at Tehuacana Creek Winery, located on the former Harrison Plantation homestead (7) TEXAS GUINAN DINNER TOUR** (Historical Time Frame: The Present) **(Subject to the schedules and ticket availability of the local performing arts organizations) A born entertainer, Mary Louise Cecelia ("Texas") Guinan, at the age of 14, convinced her parents to allow her to ride the train alone to Chicago to enter a singing contest sponsored by department store owner Marshall Field. Winning first place, she took her prize money and returned to Waco to finish school, and begin her show business career. She moved to New York City, where she became better known as “Texas”. Always ambitious, "Texas" became a headliner in nightclubs, soon attracting the attention of a Hollywood film producer. Lured by the new moving pictures industry, she moved to California where she became the first gun-toting cinema cowgirl, starring in over 200 silent films. She eventually moved back to New York, where she owned speakeasies during Prohibition, and became a hit with the after-theatre crowd as a Mistress of Ceremonies. Raucous, flip, and jovial she moved from on stage into the audience, and began greeting customers as they arrived with her trademark phrase “Hello Suckers”. Basic Tour: 4 to 6 hours, including a seated dinner at a local restaurant featuring a menu specially-selected by the Chef, plus tickets to a performance by one of Waco’s many cultural arts groups, or to a "private showing" at a local art gallery. Focus Group: Adult Groups Itinerary Focus: "Culture and Cuisine – A Waco Sampling" Included with the Basic Tour: Selection depends on performance schedules and ticket availability to one of the following: Waco Hippodrome Theatre, Waco Symphony, Waco Chamber Symphony, Waco Lyric Opera, Waco Civic Theatre, Baylor Theatre, Bosque River Stage, McLennan Community College Theatre, The Waco Art Centre, etc. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LIVING HISTORY TOURS of WACO© A "Wild Over Waco" ("WOW!") Tourism Initiative™ SUITABLE FOR GROUPS OF ALL TYPES CONVENTIONS, FAMILIES, REUNIONS, HERITAGE SOCIETIES, TRAVEL CLUBS, SCHOOLS, CHURCHES, CORPORATE RETREATS, PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, NONPROFITS, SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS, etc.) A minimum of 10 adults is required per group on each of our Living History Tours of Waco©. NOTE: Family tours and School tours require one (1) adult chaperone per ten (10) persons under age 18 years of age. Reservations must be made at least 14 days in advance of your requested Tour date. Tour Cost: For a 4-hour (1/2-day) Living History Tour of Waco©: $ 60./$75. per person.* For a 7-hour (full day) Living History Tour of Waco©: $115./$145. per person* "Texas Guinan Dinner Tour": $165. per person.** *"All-inclusive" of costumed "Living History" step-on historian guide, one meal (lunch or dinner), beverages en route, venue admissions and guided tours or performance ticketing, and all taxes and gratuities. Cost varies depending upon whether the included meal is lunch or dinner. NOTE: For groups requiring motorcoach charter for Living History Tour, there will be an additional charge. Cost of motorcoach charter varies with size of group, tour selected and applicable fuel surcharges on date of tour. For info on our Group Tour Package "Experience Waco!" -- an overnight WACO FUN PACKAGE, link here to: http://www.wacocvb.com/wacotours.asp NOTE: Requests for changes or modifications in any of these published Living History Tours of Waco©, or requests for the creation of Living History Tours of Waco© which are different from these published Itineraries, are subject to a minimum 50% additional per person surcharge above the published per person tour price. Snobby Tours®, Inc. Tour and Event General Policies apply to all reservations. Disclaimer And Limitation of Liability Some aspects of the Tour itinerary for each of these Tours may change, depending on local conditions. Snobby Tours®, Inc. may at any time, with or without notice, modify all Tour itineraries, prices, dates, hotels, transportation, departures, destinations, inter alia, and availability of the foregoing, as such may be necessary or required by local conditions. Corporate decisions and personal information regarding tour participants and/or regarding Tour itinerary adjustments, variations, or changes and the reasons therefor, are strictly confidential. None of the content contained herein shall be construed as an offer for the sale or provision of any services, goods, or products of Snobby Tours®, Inc., or of any other entity. All content contained in this Site is provided for informational purposes only. |
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