"Keeweechic's Waxahachie" a Waxahachie Travel Page by keeweechic

Waxahachie has been nicknamed the Gingerbread City largely because of the architecture of the beautiful homes and buildings. The name itself however comes from the Indian word meaning "cow or buffalo creek". As the seat of Ellis Country, the city has become an important agricultural, commercial, educational and transport centre in between Dallas and Waco. Founded in 1850 by a pioneer settler, Emory Rogers, the city began to prosper when the railroad was established and as the nationals largest cotton producing country, cotton then was able to be shipped around the country quickly and efficiently. Many of the downtown buildings were built around this time. With the local economy booming, the construction industry took off, building large and exquisite homes which you can still see today.

As local cotton production deteriorated during the 1930s, Waxahachie's most affluent period came to an abrupt end. Since then, growth has been slow but it has also mean that the towns late 19th/early 20th century buildings have been saved. Waxahachie folks have taken an active part in the preservation and restoration of these historic buildings. Four individual properties and one historic district has already been listed on the National Register of Historic Places with many more proposed to be added in the future.

Waxahachie is also know for the Scarborough Faire Renaissance Festival held every year. Laid out on 35 acres, the faire have been running for 24 years (2003) and one of the best and largest renaissance festivals in the country.

Waxahachie is not far from Dallas (35 mins) and Fort Worth (45 mins).