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ABSTRACT “For the Pleasure of the People” a Centennial History Of

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ABSTRACT “For the Pleasure of the People” a Centennial History Of ABSTRACT “For the Pleasure of the People” A Centennial History of William Cameron Park, Waco, Texas Mark Edward Firmin, M.A. Thesis Chairperson: T. Michael Parrish, Ph.D. In this thesis I seek to trace the one hundred year history of William Cameron Park, Waco, Texas. The history of the park will be placed within the larger context of Waco and the United States. Special attention will be paid to how Cameron Park was shaped by events such as the “City Beautiful” movement, the Great Depression, and the Civil Rights Era as well as how Cameron Park shaped the lives of Wacoans during these periods of time. The initial development of the park, 1910-1930, the decline of the park in the 1970s and 1980s, and revitalization efforts from 1985 to the present, constitute the critical time periods in Cameron Park’s history. To piece together the relatively undocumented history of the park it was imperative to rely heavily on newspapers and oral and history interviews. "For The Pleasure Of The People" A Centennial History Of William Cameron Park, Waco, Texas by Mark Edward Firmin, B.A. A Thesis Approved by the Department of History ___________________________________ Jeffrey S. Hamilton, Ph.D., Chairperson Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Baylor University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Arts Approved by the Thesis Committee ___________________________________ T. Michael Parrish, Ph.D., Chairperson ___________________________________ Stephen M. Sloan, Ph.D. ___________________________________ Jerry Z. Park, Ph.D. ___________________________________ Thomas L. Charlton, Ph.D. Accepted by the Graduate School August 2009 ___________________________________ J. Larry Lyon, Ph.D., Dean Page bearing signatures is kept on file in the Graduate School. Copyright © 2009 by Mark Edward Firmin All rights reserved TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGMENTS iv DEDICATION v CHAPTER ONE: Proctor Springs and the Waco Park Movement 1 CHAPTER TWO: “Clan Cameron:” The Cameron Family in Waco 22 CHAPTER THREE: “Waco Beautiful” and William Cameron Park 34 CHAPTER FOUR: Building and Growing Cameron Park, 1910-1930 54 CHAPTER FIVE: An Escape from a World in Turmoil, 1930-1965 82 CHAPTER SIX: Decline and Revitalization, 1965-2000 111 CHAPTER SEVEN: Change and Continuity 141 APPENDIX 150 BIBLIOGRAPHY 156 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I would like to thank my thesis director, Dr. T. Michael Parrish, for his unconditional support and tireless efforts in helping me research and edit this work. Dr. Thomas L. Charlton, Director of the Texas Collection at Baylor University, has been an unmitigated source of encouragement and aid. This work would not have been possible without the help of the excellent staff at the Texas Collection. I would like to especially thank staff members Ellen Brown, Amie Oliver, Tiffany Sowell, Geoff Hunt, Michael Toon, and Kathy Hinton, you all have been indispensable to this project. To Rusty Black, Sharon Fuller, and the rest of the Parks and Recreation staff, thank you for bending over backwards to accommodate my research needs. Sandi Polk at the Waco Records and Archives and Larry Holze at City of Waco Municipal Information office also warrant acknowledgment for helping to track down, collect, and disseminate materials on Cameron Park. At the Institute for Oral History, which loaned me the equipment to capture Wacoans’ memories and photographs, thanks are due to thesis committee member and institute director Dr. Stephen Sloan, Elinor Mazé, and the kind and helpful Becky Shulda. Thanks to Dr. Jerry Park of the Department of Sociology for his service on my committee and his insights and suggestions. To my friend Marcus Johnson thanks for all of your help over the past few years. Thanks to Dave Sikkema for his help with oral history interviews. I would also like to thank everyone who shared their memories and photos of the park with me. Finally, thanks be to God who sustained me throughout this process and who created Cameron Park—an extraordinary place. iv DEDICATION To Mom and Dad Thank you for believing in me. I love you both To Liza I cannot adequately express what you mean to me. Thank you for your support, patience, and understanding To the family of William Cameron This project would not have been possible without your magnanimity and dedication to the citizens and city of Waco, thank you v CHAPTER ONE Proctor Springs and the Park Movement in Waco When it comes to providing the public with recreational spaces, few cities rival Waco, Texas. How many cities can claim ownership of a 416-acre public park nestled within its limits? Even fewer cities can boast of having a park as topographically, recreationally, and culturally diverse as Waco’s William Cameron Park. In 2010 Cameron Park will begin its 100th year as Waco’s pleasure ground. Surprisingly, few people know how Cameron Park came to be the recreational heart of Waco. How did Cameron Park reach its current size? How has the appearance of the park changed? Who were the people behind the donation, construction, and maintenance of the park? How has the use of Cameron Park by the citizens of Waco evolved? Perhaps equally importantly, how has racial diversity in Cameron Park changed over the past century? What have been the highlights, dark times, controversies, and turning points in the park’s history? Cameron Park is an outdoor escape within the city limits of Waco, comfortably tucked away from the hustle and bustle of city life. To understand how Cameron Park came to be, how it evolved, and what its future might hold can only help to foster an even deeper appreciation for Waco’s most valuable public asset. On May 21, 1910, the Waco Times-Herald reported the unexpected purchase of the coveted Proctor Springs property by William C. Lawson. Speculation as to whether the land would be converted into a large park was the conversation topic of the day all over Waco. Lawson, President of the Waco Cotton Exchange and Chairman of the 1 Young Men’s Business League’s Committee on Parks and Boulevards, advocated for parks and a river boulevard in Waco as fervently as anyone. With the $25,000 purchase of eighty-five acres that included the entire Proctor Springs tract, the citizens of Waco waited anxiously to see if their dreams of a large park would come to fruition. Mr. Lawson, however, had no intention of divulging his plans for the Proctor Springs property.1 To understand the fascination surrounding Lawson’s purchase of Proctor Springs, it is necessary to trace the history of the land, and the way in which the importance of the land changed from generation to generation. Proctor Springs and the surrounding land had long been considered one of the most beautiful nature spots in the American South. Fed by water rising through cracks created by the Balcones Fault, the ice-cold springs once flowed with tremendous force into the Brazos River. The fault line also helped to produce the diversity of the topography surrounding the springs as shown by the flood plain, deep ravines, and towering limestone cliffs. Just north of Proctor Springs, the Brazos and South Bosque rivers meet. In some native cultures, the confluence of two rivers is sacred territory, which might explain the absence of Native American settlements near the bluffs.2 In 1772 the Waco Indians, a sub-tribe of the Wichita Confederacy, established a village on the west bank of the Brazos River near the Waco Springs. The Waco Indians chose the land for its abundance of fresh water, fertile soil, and timber. Although they 1“Proctor Springs Now Owned by W.C. Lawson,” Waco Times-Herald, May 21, 1910. Estimates on the size of the Proctor Springs Property range from eighty-five to one hundred and twenty-five acres, with the former being closest to the actual size of the tract. 2Kenna Lang, "An Environmental History: William Cameron Park, Waco, Texas" (master's thesis, Baylor University, 2007), 22-23; “William Cameron Park is Waco: A Public History Study and Recommendations to the City of Waco, Texas” (History Seminar Paper, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, 1998), 12-13; John Philpott, interview by Mark Firmin, January 14, 2009, in Georgetown, Texas, compact disc, Institute for Oral History, Baylor University, Waco, TX. 2 resided on the west bank of the Brazos, the Waco Indians did not fish. Instead, they thrived upon agriculture and hunting. With a heavy reliance on corn, the Waco Indian diet also consisted of squash, beans, watermelon, and peaches that were grown each spring. The Wacos hunted buffalo, turkey, bear, and deer. In Waco: A Sesquicentennial History, Waco historian Patricia Ward Wallace noted that the Waco Indians revered the Brazos and the springs that fed into it because they considered the springs to hold sacred powers. The Wacos referred to the Brazos as the “Great Tohomoho” and believed that a goddess named “Woman Having Powers in Water” resided there. By drinking the sacred water from the springs and river, the Wacos believed they would ensure their prosperity and security.3 Vigilant against threats to their land from rival tribes and encroaching white settlers, the Waco Indians thrived under the protective powers of the Brazos. With the arrival of the Cherokees—who had been driven west along the Trail of Tears by the Federal government—in Central Texas in the 1820s, the Waco Indians faced a challenge to their security. In 1829 the resurgent Cherokees attacked, scalping at least fifty Waco Indians. By 1830 the Cherokee Indians established a temporary village of their own on the east bank of the Brazos River across from the Wacos. The appearance of the Cherokees marked the beginning of the end for the Waco Village, and by 1837 the village was abandoned.
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