Waco University

In 1861, Dr. Rufus C. Burleson (1823-1901) resigned as President of Baylor University (then located at Independence) to become head of the Waco Classical School, which had been founded in 1856 as the Trinity River Male High School by The Rev. Solomon G. O'Bryan. For 25 years Burleson worked tirelessly to make Waco University, as it was renamed in 1861, the pre-eminent Baptist college in the state, and by the early 1880s enrollment had reached over 400 students. In 1886, the Waco and Independence institutions were unified as Baylor University at Waco.

Waco University is a historical marker in Waco, McLennan County, dedicated in 1986. It is one of 198 historical markers documented in McLennan County in the Texas Historical Commission Atlas, among 224 historic sites cataloged across the county.

The site sits at 31.5527, -97.1273 near Waco. The nearest cataloged historic site is First Baptist Church of Waco (historical marker), about under a tenth of a mile away. Others within a short drive include Fort House, Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company Building, and Earle-Napier-Kinnard House.

This record corresponds to Texas Historical Commission Atlas #5309005695. Use the map below for its exact position and turn-by-turn directions.