Waco is in central Texas and is the seat of McLennan County. It is located on the Brazos River, in a region producing cotton, grain, and livestock. Several lakes are nearby including Lake Waco, on the Bosque River. The Waco people, for whom the city is named, lived at the strategic crossing of the Brazos when Texas Rangers established Fort Fisher there in 1837. Brazos river was formed by the junction of the Double Mountain Fork and the Salt Fork. The Brazos flows southeast and empties into the Gulf of Mexico near Freeport. The river is 2,060 km (1,280 mi) long and drains an extensive area. It is navigable at all times for 64 km (40 mi) from the Gulf of Mexico to West Columbia, and during high water for a distance of 483 km (300 mi). Two large reservoirs north of Waco were formed by the construction on the river of the Possum Kingdom Dam and the Whitney Dam. Waco is a commercial, transportation, and manufacturing center, with industries producing plastics, processed food, pharmaceuticals, glass, steel, and candy. The area is served by the Waco Regional Airport. Located in the city is Baylor University (1845), with the Armstrong Browning Library housing a large collection relating to the poets Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Browning; a community college (McLennan Community College); and a technical college(Texas State Technical College Waco). A museum commemorates the history of the Texas Rangers(Texas Ranger Hall of Fame and Museum). The Cameron Park Zoo exhibits animals in natural habitats. Baylor University is a private, coeducational institution in Waco, Texas. The school was founded in 1845 in Independence, Texas, as the Texas Baptist Educational Society. In 1886 it was moved to Waco, where it was consolidated with Waco University, and its present name was adopted. The university is affiliated with the Baptist General Convention of Texas. Waco incorporated in 1857. Beginning in the late 1860s, Waco benefited from its location on the Chisholm Trail, a cattle route between San Antonio, Texas, and Abilene, Kansas. Major economic development began after the river was spanned by a suspension bridge, then one of the world's longest and today still used as a pedestrian crossing, in 1870 and the arrival of the first railroad in 1871. The city was badly damaged by a tornado in 1953. A 51-day standoff between law-enforcement officials and members of a religious group calling themselves the Branch Davidians took place near Waco in 1993, resulting in the deaths of about 80 group members and 4 federal agents. Waco covers a land area of 196.1 sq km (75.7 sq mi), with a mean elevation of 122 m (400 ft).