Biohazard Cleanup Near North Lorena Lorena, TX

Lorena was first settled in the 1850s, but its townsite was laid out in 1881 when the Missouri, Kansas and Texas railroad was built between Hillsboro and Taylor, thirteen miles south of Waco in southern McLennan County.

Lorena was originally called Aerl Station, after community founder Daniel Aerl, and was renamed — pronounced 'Lo-REE-nah' — for Lorena Westbrook, the oldest daughter of prominent settlers Charles A. and Mary Virginia Whitsett Westbrook.

Lorena got its post office in 1882, and by 1890 it had a hotel, a school, a steam cotton gin and gristmill, two churches, three general stores, and 250 residents shipping cotton, corn, and livestock.

Lorena faded mid-century — its population fell to 242 in the 1950s and was still only 406 in 1970 — but it incorporated in 1959 and took off once Interstate 35 arrived, riding Waco's suburban growth.

Lorena had a population of 1,785 at the 2020 census, living in 644 households, and it is part of the Waco Metropolitan Statistical Area along Interstate 35, where U.S. Highway 81 originally ran.

Lorena students mostly attend the Lorena Independent School District — home of the Lorena Leopards — with a small piece of the city in the Bruceville-Eddy district, and all of McLennan County is in the service area of McLennan Community College.

Lorena is the hometown of singer Holly Tucker, who gained national attention as a contestant on the television singing competition The Voice.