Waco, Texas: Branch Davidian Massacre Site

The road that you turn down to get to the main gates of the compound is probably paved by now. The day I visited they were prepping the road and I suspect it's now paved. The road past the gates is probably still dirt and gravel. It's a very sobering experience and worthwhile to check out. Hard to believe that this was over 20 years ago.

There is a memorial monument, but that is not where the compound stood, according to Pastor Charles Pace of a Church located on the site of the compound. The only evidence that remains of the compound is the concrete hole that was once the pool and a piece of building foundation on the left side of the church when facing the church, but near the back of the church. What remains of the pool is also on the left side of the church. At the front of the church, there is a dispenser with maps showing where buildings were located on the compound. The monument consists of two walls with the names of those who died, a floor and several flags.

There is a "No trespassing" sign on the gate, but it is only intended for government people, not everyone. The Branch Davidian Massacre Site has a memorial wall with the names of everyone who died.

Easy directions to the hard-to-find Branch Davidian Massacre site just north-east of Waco, Texas: Simply enter the following intersection into your car's GPS device: ELK ROAD and DOUBLE EE RANCH ROAD. When you arrive at this location, simply turn left onto Double EE Ranch Road and the Branch Davidian Massacre site is down a short ways on the right. There is a large marble stone inscribed: THE BRANCH just inside the entry road.

My wife and I visited the site of the Branch Davidian tragedy at the end of September. They have cleaned all the visible debris such as the old burned out bus, motorcycle and bathtub as far as we could see. They have removed the memorial stones from the trees and are now using them to ring the big trees in the driveway.

We did see the burned concrete (presumedly from the fire) being used as rip-rap in a drain beside the driveway. The memorial stones include the ages of the victims. It was a shock to again read the ages of some of the babies killed there that day. There is a large memorial with all the victims' names on it displayed as well as a large stone sign with "The Branch" on it.

All of the directions to the site were a little misleading and there are no signs showing where the site is. Also the large stone sign is not easily seen until you enter the site, which is off the county road.