Branch Davidians Cult Memorial

Mount Carmel Center was the name of the Branch Davidian home outside of Waco, Texas, United States, led by Benjamin Roden and later David Koresh. Named after the Biblical mountain in northern Israel, it was here that the Waco siege of 1993 occurred, in which four ATF agents and 83 Branch Davidians were killed. In 1935, Davidian founder Victor Houteff established his headquarters near Lake Waco, west of the town. After Houteff's death, his widow Florence began selling off parcels of the land, as the neighboring city of Waco began to expand around the edges of the Mount Carmel Community. In 1957, she sold off the last of the property, and bought a 941-acre (3.81 km2) property in the countryside northeast of Waco, christened New Mt. Carmel. Today, Waco's Mt. Carmel Drive runs through the Old Mt. Carmel area, and nearby Charboneau and Hermanson Drives are named after key Branch Davidian families. In 1962, Florence Houteff announced her intention to disband the Branch Davidian organization, with the assets to be sold off and the proceeds disbursed among her Executive Council. This arrangement was opposed by many members. Most of the New Mt. Carmel property ended up in the hands of the EE Ranch, but the Branch Davidians retained a core 77 acres (310,000 m2) around the administrative building. In 1998, three buildings at the former Branch Davidian compound were destroyed in a suspicious fire. They were the home of Amo Bishop Roden, wife of former Branch Davidian leader George Roden, and two museums she used to record the groups history. It is important to note that there have been various sects and generations of communities that have resided on and/or used the property east of Waco on Double EE Ranch Road. Not all groups or individuals within these groups share the same religious theology or approach to spirituality. Efforts to memorialize the events of 1993 on the property have been altered over the years since 1993.