Willingham, Frances M.

This collection reflects early activities in the Waco and McLennan county area by Texas Rangers, businessmen, and ranchers. Most of the collection dates to before the American Civil War.

Built on the site of the Waco Indian's agricultural village, the city of Waco was first established as a Texan-American town in 1837 by a company of Texas Rangers. The Torrey brothers, who had operated trading posts throughout Texas since 1842, opened a branch store just south of present-day Waco in 1843. Several notes refer to this trading post in the collection.

Other Americans came to the Waco area throughout the 1840s. These people became farmers, ranchers, plantation owners, and filled many other needed occupations on the frontier. Many of them chose to sell their goods to the Texas Rangers, who were still in the area. Receipts from this collection detail sales of food, land, and enslaved African-Americans. Other documents show the payment of money to people for their services as scouts, teamsters, and soldiers. All of these receipts reveal the increasing importance of Waco as a regional hub for commerce of all kinds. Waco continues to be a vibrant commercial site in Central Texas for people from around the region to obtain needed supplies and services today.