McLennan County, Texas

McLennan County, Texas
The McLennan County courthouse in Waco
Location in the U.S. state of Texas
Texas's location in the U.S.
Founded	1850
Named for	Neil McLennan
Seat	Waco
Largest city	Waco
Area
• Total	1,060 sq mi (2,745 km2)
• Land	1,037 sq mi (2,686 km2)
• Water	23 sq mi (60 km2), 2.2%
Population
• (2010)	234,906
• Density	227/sq mi (88/km²)
Congressional district	17th
Time zone	Central: UTC-6/-5
Website	www.co.mclennan.tx.us

McLennan County is a county located on the Edwards Plateau in Central Texas. As of the 2010 census, its population was 234,906. Its county seat is Waco. The U.S. census 2015 county population estimate is 245,671. The county is named for Neil McLennan, an early settler.

McLennan County is included in the Waco Metropolitan Statistical Area.

McLennan County was created by the Texas Legislature in 1850 out of Milam County. The county seat, Waco, had been founded as an outpost of the Texas Rangers, laid out by George B. Erath, and was known by 1850 as "Waco Village." According to local lore, the first sustained flight did not occur in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, but just outside Tokio (a small community in McLennan County) by a man flying a gyrocopter. During World War I, McLennan County was home to at least one military airfield, Rich Field. In the aftermath of World War I, racial violence disrupted county life, culminating in two major Ku Klux Klan marches (one in Waco and another in Lorena) and the public lynching of numerous Black citizens. (One such public lynching is the catalyst behind a "Lynching Resolution" being discussed by the Waco City Council and the McLennan County Commissioners Court.) McLennan County's contributions to World War II include the reopening of Rich Field, Doris Miller (awarded the Navy Cross for his heroism at Pearl Harbor, also the first African American to earn such distinction), and James Connally (a locally famous World War II fighter pilot).