The Waco Indians were a band of the Wichita culture. Hueco is another spelling of Waco. The Waco Indians settled on the banks of the Brazos River in the late 1700’s. The Wacos had approximately 400 acres of land under cultivation, planted in corn, beans, pumpkins, melons and peach trees. The village was located about 1/2 mile from the Brazos River, on Barron's Branch creek, near a cold spring. In the winter, after all the crops were in, they would leave the village and travel around the southern plains to hunt buffalo. While hunting buffalo they would live in tee-pees. The Wacos were a branch of the Wichitas and were closely related to the Tawakonis. They were members of the Caddoan Confederacy. The tribe lived in beehive shaped huts, 20 to 25 feet high, made of poles, buffalo hides and rushes. Another group of the Wacos or Huecos, lived in a village on the Guadalupe river northwest of modern New Braunfels. This spot is still called Hueco Springs and is a very beautiful place. About 1830 a group of Cherokee Indians moved into the area and drove the Wacos from the village. The city of Waco, Texas is built on the site of the old agricultural village of the Waco Indians.

The Wichita and Affiliated Tribes Home Page is an interesting Native American web site.

Back to Indians in Texas

Back to Texas main page.