Waco is a city in central Texas known for Baylor University, the Magnolia Market at the Silos, and the Waco Mammoth National Monument among others. Centrally located, Waco can easily be a day trip from DFW or Austin.

Popular points of interest:

• Baylor University,

• Cameron Park and Cameron Park Zoo,

• Lake Waco,

• Magnolia Market at the Silos,

• Mayborn Museum Complex,

• Texas Ranger Hall of Fame & Museum,

• Texas Sports Hall of Fame,

• Waco Mammoth National Park,

• Waco Riverwalk, and

• Waco Suspension Bridge & Cattle Drive Sculputures.

Dr. Pepper History

Dr Pepper is the oldest major brand soft drink in the U.S., and it all began at Morrison’s Old Corner Drug Store with local pharmacist Charles Alderton. It is unclear where the name “Dr. Pepper” came from but it is believed that the owner of the drug store, Mr. Morrison, is the one that bestowed the name upon it.

The beverage gained popularity among drug store customers and it subsequently became quite popular in town. Soon, Alderton and Morrison could not keep up with demand so Morrison joined forces with chemist Robert Lazenby to create the Artesian Mfg. & Bottling Company. It would later become the Dr Pepper Company and it would move to Dallas in 1923.

History of the Buildings

The Dr. Pepper Museum is a paranormal gem in Central Texas.   Located on 5th Street in Waco, the museum is in the 1906 Artesian Manufacturing and Bottling Company building. It is made up of two buildings with a courtyard in between.  The museum offers a lot of city history, including the devastation caused by a tornado in May 1953, as well as Dr. Pepper history. The 100 year-old building is listed in the National Register of Historic Places as the “Home of Dr Pepper.”

For many years, the vacant bottling plant sat abandoned and in a dismal state of disrepair. In 1988, the Dr. Pepper Company donated the historic building to a nonprofit organization and renovation efforts began in 1990. The museum opened to the public in 1991 and is home to the W. W. Clements Free Enterprise Institute. It was established in 1997 to educate the public about the American economic system.

Our Investigations

2013 was the first time we investigated the museum.  The first time I took the paranormal team to investigate, we had 30 investigators between the 2 buildings and courtyard.  Yes, 30 investigators!  With 6 sizable floors available to us between the two buildings, we had plenty of space to investigate.  

The number and identity of the spirits that remain in the Dr. Pepper Museum is unknown. In 1953, a F5 tornado hit Waco and decimated part of downtown. The area that includes the museum sustained damage and many lives were lost from the tornado that day. Could it be that some of the spirit activity is from those that lost their lives that day? Mmmm……maybe.

For more info about that deadly day, check out WacoHistory.

Reports from employees during our first visit were that the smaller of the two buildings, referred to as the administration building, was once a store that held a pharmacy and a butcher shop. In the basement you can still see the old meat lockers.

Several investigators had EMF spikes, temperature fluctuations, anomalies on the Kinect, and one amazing EVP down in the basement.  The EVP very clearly and angrily said “Get the f***out!”

It is very dark down in the basement. So dark that you can't see your hand in front of your face!  On our second investigation, I felt as if someone brushed against my arm and gave a quick tug on my hair.  On the last couple investigations, we heard some strange noises in one corner of the basement and had readings on a geophone.  The basement definitely seems to be a hot spot. 

We had a fair amount of activity with various EMF meters and a flashlight on the first floor.  (Yes, using the flashlight is controversial but we still use all possible investigation strategies.)  Baseline readings taken before we went lights out showed no unusual levels of EMF. One investigator got the flashlight and EMF readings on video and it is quite compelling to watch nonetheless. 

Yes there was bottling in the main building but there is no record of any kind of bottling accident, death, or other type of incident that might bring about paranormal activity.  I suspect some of the activity is from victims of the tornado but could also be someone from Dr.  Pepper.  Perhaps it is W.W. “Foots” Clements, a salesman that later became one of Dr. Pepper's most highly regarded leaders.

Note to other paranormal investigation teams:

On our last couple of investigations, I didn’t have as many investigators as I did the first time.  I now limit it to 15 people because you can hear noise from other floors once in a while and we want to eliminate contamination as much as possible.  The basement seems to be a hotspot but, if you use a SLS camera, it is possible to get false positives due to the memorabilia items that are stored there.. Tall items may be perceived as a figure so be aware of your surrounding so you can debunk effectively.

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If you aren't into the paranormal, you should still stop by the museum.  It is a great family friendly location and you can always stop by the soda shop for a treat! I included links to both the museum and Wacohistory.org so you can get a quick history lesson before you visit. You will find additional photos from all of our visits below.

Make this beautiful day count!