Who knew the first bridge permanent across the Brazos River in Waco would become home to an iconic Baylor tradition: tortilla tossing!
Today, the bridge is only for pedestrian crossings, though its history as an integral thoroughfare begins long before Baylor moved to Waco. Baylor students have adopted it for the tradition of tortilla tossing. The goal is simple: toss a tortilla from the bridge and land it on one of the pylons emerging from the river below. The reward? Campus lore has it that a successful landing could grant the tosser graduation in four years, a Baylor soulmate, or a wedding ring by spring.
Until 1870, there was no bridge spanning the entire Brazos River, leading travelers, merchants, and cattle drivers on the Chisholm Trail to rely on dangerous shallow fords or ferries to cross. Plans to construct a bridge across the Brazos emerged in 1866, and the Texas State Legislature granted a charter that would establish the Waco Bridge Company. The private company was allowed a monopoly on transportation across the river for the next 25 years.
It was determined that a steel cable suspension bridge would be best suited for the project, and Thomas M. Griffith, a civil engineer from New York, was hired. By 1870, the bridge was complete. At the time of its completion, it was the longest suspension bridge west of the Mississippi River.
The bridge had economic benefits for the community. In the decades that followed, Waco became the capital for cotton and cattle trade in Central Texas. However, in 1913, many Wacoans called for the bridge’s removal — complaining that it was unsightly. But instead, the city, by then in ownership of the bridge, gave it a makeover, re-flooring it, stuccoing over the brick, and replacing the wooden trusses with steel.
So next time you’re walking the Waco Suspension Bridge, be sure to stop and take a second look to see if you can find any tortillas floating in the waters below.
