Brazos River Transmission Electric Cooperative
Waco, McLennan County, Texas
Marker Inscription
The first generation and transmission electric cooperative in Texas, this corporation was organized in February 1941 by eleven small electric cooperatives which had been established under the rural electrification administration. With a goal of providing affordable wholesale power costs and improved service to its members, the cooperative first established offices in Fort Worth. In 1945 the headquarters were moved to Waco, and service eventually was extended to a large area of central and North Texas.
Erected by Texas Historical Commission
The Story
Organized in February 1941 by eleven small member cooperatives, this was the first generation-and-transmission electric cooperative in Texas, an outgrowth of the New Deal's Rural Electrification Administration. Aiming to supply affordable wholesale power to rural communities, it started in Fort Worth and moved its headquarters to Waco in 1945, eventually serving a wide swath of central and North Texas.
Why it matters
It marks the arrival of electricity in rural Texas — one of the great transformations of 20th-century American life, driven by cooperative self-help and federal policy.
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Related events
- · Rural electrification
Themes & tags
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