Wandering Waco 6

Museum Pass in hand and off to explore one of the three historic homes open for tours.  

East Terrance House 

From Historic Waco:  After moving from Tennessee in 1858, industrialist and businessman John Wesley Mann built this beautiful Italianate villa style house for his bride, Cemira.  In 1874, John Wesley Mann, his wife, and their two young boys, Howard and J. W. Jr., moved into East Terrace.  Mr. Mann was involved in several businesses in town, including the brick company that furnished the bricks used in constructing the Waco Suspension Bridge serving as a pivotal economical, cultural, and overall landmark for Waco. In 1884, he built an "Entertainment Wing" which included a ballroom for lavish parties. Parties in the East Terrace ballroom were a grand event.  As an adult, Howard Mann recalled the beautifully dressed women and their handsome escorts dancing at the Summer Balls.  Extra stable boys had to be hired to take care of the 50+ carriages and their horses.  The house changed hands and uses several times. Other uses for the house include a sanatorium and boarding house. While touring East Terrace, you will see many objects within the home that were original to the Mann family including the cast iron bathtub in the bathroom and other furnishings.

I love BBQ and have my regular rotation.  Waco has some lesser advertised BBQ joints on this side of Waco so today I popped in at Jasper's Bar-B-Que.  It feels like a hole in the wall kind of place with the nicest people working there!  Jasper's has been around since 1919 making it one of the oldest operating BBQ places in Waco.  I got a brisket/rib plate and a jalapeno popper that was so perfect.

Museum Pass saved:  $10

Lunch:  $15.45