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 CAPTAIN THOMAS HUDSON BARRON/MOZELLA BARRON TOUR Born in Kentucky in 1796, Capt. 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 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/families 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 Daniel Historic Village Cameron Park/Cameron Park Zoo or Lake Waco Wetlands GENERAL SUL ROSS/KATE ROSS TOUR General Lawrence Sullivan (Sul) Ross, native Wacoan, 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. He served as Governor of Texas, the first Governor to actually occupy the Capitol Building. He later served as President of Texas A&M University. Born in 1851, Kate 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 coeducation. 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/families Itinerary Focus: “Six Shooter Junction”/ Post Civil War Reconstruction (1865-1890) Included with the Basic Tour: One Historic Waco Foundation Museum Home Mayborn Museum Complex and Bill and Vara Daniel Historic Village Expanded Tour: 7 hours, including lunch Additional Attractions Available For Expanded Tour: Homestead Heritage OR The Dr Pepper Museum JACOB DE CORDOVA/REBECCA DE CORDOVA TOUR 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. After he was grown, 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, urged him to set aside free lots in Waco for schools and houses of worship. He agreed to do so once Waco was named the seat of the newly formed McLennan County. Basic Tour: 4 hours, including lunch Focus Group: Adults Itinerary Focus: “The Athens of Texas” (Late 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, Temple Rodef Shalom); Baylor University and the Armstrong-Browning Library Expanded Tour: 7 hours, including lunch Additional Attractions Available For Expanded Tour: Texas Scottish Rite Museum and Lee Lockwood Library OR Masonic Grand Lodge OR; The Art Center (William Cameron Home), and the McLennan Community College Campus JULES BLEDSOE/ESTELLA MAXEY TOUR Jules Bledsoe, born in 1903, was a baritone, and a world-renowned opera singer. He debuted in 1924 at New York’s Aeolian Hall, created the role of Joe in Jerome Kern’s “Show Boat” in 1927, sang with the Italian Opera in Holland, 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/families Itinerary Focus: African-American Heritage, Culture, and Achievement Included with the Basic Tour: Historic African-American Houses of Worship (New Hope, First M.E., etc); Elm Street, Paul Quinn Campus Expanded Tour: 7 hours, including lunch Additional Attractions Available For Expanded Tour: Texas Sports Hall of Fame NEIL McLENNAN TOUR Born on the Isle of Skye in 1777, Neil McLennan emigrated from Scotland to the U.S. in 1801. He sailed from Florida to Texas on a three-masted schooner, the Caledonia, in 1834. He joined George B. Erath in 1839 on a scouting and surveying trip to the Bosque River, near present day Waco. He later returned in 1845 with his family to settle in the area. 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 Itinerary Focus: “Around the County – the Famous and Infamous” Included with the Basic Tour: Crawford, home of the Western White House, OR The Branch Davidian Compound Expanded Tour: 7 hours, including lunch Additional Attractions Available For Expanded Tour: Improved Order of Red Men Museum (National Headquarters) JAMES and HENNIE HARRISON TOUR / HALLIE EARLE TOUR 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, Hennie Harrison, 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, instead following 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 Itinerary Focus: "A Celebration of Days Gone By" Included with the Basic Tour: The Earle-Harrison House and the breathtaking Pape Gardens Expanded Tour: 7 hours, including lunch Additional Attractions Available for Expanded Tour: Wine Tasting and Touring at the Tehuacana Creek Winery, located on the former Harrison Plantation TEXAS GUINAN TOUR* *(Subject to the schedule of Performing Arts Organizations) A born entertainer, Mary Louise Cecelia 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, Tex 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 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, includes a seated dinner at a specially selected restaurant featuring ethnic or regional cuisine or a dinner with wine pairing; plus tickets to a performance by one of Waco’s many cultural arts groups. Focus Group: Adults Itinerary Focus: Culture and Cuisine – A Waco sampling Included with the Basic Tour: Selection depends on event scheduling and ticket availability to one of the following: Hippodrome Theatre, Waco Symphony, Waco Chamber Symphony, Waco Lyric Opera, Waco Civic Theatre, Baylor Theatre, Bosque River Stage, McLennan Community College Theatre, 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 tour. Reservations must be made at least 14 days in advance of requested tour(s). NOTE: Requests for changes to stated Itineraries are subject to an additional charge. 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. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION Contact us at: Phone: 254.754,8687 Toll Free: 1.866.284.8687 or E-mail us at: snobbytours@yahoo.com |
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