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History · Waterloo

Waterloo dates to 1824, and 23% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1911 on and the census since 1880.

1824founded
0on the National Register
23%homes built before 1940
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Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
Quick answers

How Waterloo began

When was Waterloo founded?

1824

Waterloo dates its founding to 1824 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 196 in 18802020 census: 178202 years
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1829.The full story ↓

What stands out about Waterloo’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Waterloo are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 524 in 1940; 178 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19114 editions of the USGS map, 1911 to 1970. Watch Waterloo change.Deep rootsEstablished in 1824: 202 years of Waterloo.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Waterloo’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Waterloo’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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People over time

Waterloo, census by census

010020030040050018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 524

Peaked at 524 in 1940; 178 people lived here in 2020.

13 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Waterloo’s Wikipedia page.

On the map

Waterloo on the map, 1911 to 1970

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Waterloo. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Waterloo on the 1911 USGS mapWaterloo on the 1936 USGS mapWaterloo on the 1953 USGS mapWaterloo on the 1970 USGS map1911Iuka sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Waterloo.

The story

How Waterloo came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Waterloo.

Read it all →

The town was incorporated in 1832 on the banks of the Tennessee River. The name most likely commemorates the Battle of Waterloo. According to the 1910 U.S. Census, Waterloo was reincorporated in 1903.

In the 1930s, the town was moved to its current location when the Tennessee Valley Authority completed the Pickwick Landing Dam, which impounds Pickwick Lake. Waterloo has lost a large area of land to floods and later the construction of Pickwick Landing Dam.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Waterloo, 1824 to 1940

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1824
    FoundingWaterloo is established
  3. 1829Post officeThe Waterloo post office opens
  4. 20th century
  5. 1911On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1940CensusPopulation peaks at 524
By decade

Waterloo, decade by decade

Today12 recent
Waterloo-post-office-al2017Waterloo-post-office-alWaterloo-historical-marker-al2017Waterloo-historical-marker-alWaterloo-bridge-al2017Waterloo-bridge-alWaterloo-Town-Hall-al2017Waterloo-Town-Hall-alWaterloo-Pickwick-Lake-upstream-al2017Waterloo-Pickwick-Lake-upstream-alWaterloo-Pickwick-Lake-shore-al2017Waterloo-Pickwick-Lake-shore-alWaterloo-Pickwick-Lake-downstream-al2017Waterloo-Pickwick-Lake-downstream-alWaterloo-Pickwick-Lake-boat-al2017Waterloo-Pickwick-Lake-boat-alWaterloo-Main-al2017Waterloo-Main-alWaterloo-Free-Library-al2017Waterloo-Free-Library-alWaterloo Landing, Trail of Tears National Historic Trail National Historic Trail marker on the north shore of Pickwick …2012Waterloo Landing, Trail of Tears National Historic Tr…Waterloo Landing, Trail of Tears National Historic Trail National Historic Trail marker on the north shore of Pickwick …2012Waterloo Landing, Trail of Tears National Historic Tr…

Questions about Waterloo’s history

What year was Waterloo founded?

In 1824, according to Wikidata. Waterloo’s post office opened in 1829, and the census of 1880 counted 196 people here.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (12), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.