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History · Waterloo

Waterloo’s post office opened in 1871, and 16% of its homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the J. C. Robinson House. Below: 18 old photos and papers, maps from 1968 on, and the census since 1880.

1871first post office
1on the National Register
16%homes built before 1940
18old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Waterloo’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Waterloo began

When was Waterloo founded?

1871

The Waterloo post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 164 in 18802020 census: 935155 years
Founding year: the first Waterloo post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).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 town in old photos18 old photos, postcards and papers.
★ What stands out · By decade

Waterloo, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1940s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1940s18 items
Main street of Waterloo, Nebraska1941Main street of Waterloo, NebraskaBerkshire hogs on dairy farm near Waterloo, Nebraska1941Berkshire hogs on dairy farm near Waterloo, NebraskaHome of family on FSA (Farm Security Administration) project. Two Rivers1941Home of family on FSA (Farm Security Administration) …Home of family on FSA (Farm Security Administration) project. Two Rivers1941Home of family on FSA (Farm Security Administration) …Children of Two Rivers, FSA (Farm Security Administration) project, going to school. Waterloo, Nebraska1941Children of Two Rivers, FSA (Farm Security Administra…Children of Two Rivers, FSA (Farm Security Administration) project, going to school. Waterloo, Nebraska1941Children of Two Rivers, FSA (Farm Security Administra…House at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, a FSA (Farm Security Administration) co-op. Waterloo, Nebraska1941House at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, a FSA (Far…Houses at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, a FSA (Farm Security Administration) co-op. Waterloo, Nebraska1941Houses at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, a FSA (Fa…House at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, a FSA (Farm Security Administration) co-op. Waterloo, Nebraska1941House at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, a FSA (Far…House at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, a FSA (Farm Security Administration) co-op. Waterloo, Nebraska1941House at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, a FSA (Far…House at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, a FSA (Farm Security Administration) co-op. Waterloo, Nebraska1941House at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, a FSA (Far…House at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, a FSA (Farm Security Administration) co-op. Waterloo, Nebraska1941House at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, a FSA (Far…Field of alfalfa for hay. Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative Company1941Field of alfalfa for hay. Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooper…Office building at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, a FSA (Farm Security Administration) co-op. Waterloo, Nebraska1941Office building at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, …Poultry houses at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, a FSA (Farm Security Administration) co-op. Waterloo, Nebraska1941Poultry houses at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, a…Poultry houses at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, a FSA (Farm Security Administration) co-op. Waterloo, Nebraska1941Poultry houses at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, a…Poultry houses at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, a FSA (Farm Security Administration) co-op. Waterloo, Nebraska1941Poultry houses at Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative, a…Meeting of members of Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperative Association, FSA (Farm Security Administration) project. Waterlo…1941Meeting of members of Two Rivers Non-Stock Cooperativ…
1950s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
The story

How Waterloo came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Waterloo.

Read it all →

Waterloo was founded by Elias Kelsey and John Logan in 1883 after two failed attempts at incorporation. In 1870, the Union Pacific Railroad designated a stop at the location. The name possibly commemorates the Battle of Waterloo or Kelsey's birthplace Waterloo, New York.

The town was temporarily abandoned following The Great Flood of 1881.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Waterloo, 1871 to 1968

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1871Post officeThe Waterloo post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1941In the archiveMain street of Waterloo, Nebraska
  5. 1968On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
On the map

Waterloo on the map, 1968 to 1983

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 1968 USGS mapWaterloo on the 1983 USGS map1968Valley sheet · 1:24,000

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

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Main street of Waterloo, Nebraska
Retake this viewMain street of Waterloo, Nebraska, 1941

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Waterloo’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Waterloo

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1980
J. C. Robinson House
J. C. Robinson House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Neo-Classical Revival1
J. C. Robinson HouseNeo-Classical Revival

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Waterloo, census by census

02004006008001,00018801900192019401960198020002020935

Grew from 164 people in 1880 to 935 in 2020, 5 times over.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Waterloo

Nobody well known was born in Waterloo itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Marlon BrandoAmerican actor · b. 1924
Warren BuffettAmerican investor, entrepreneur and businessman · b. 1930
Malcolm XAmerican Black rights activist · b. 1925
Fred AstaireAmerican dancer, choreographer, actor, and sing… · b. 1899
Nick NolteAmerican actor · b. 1941
A
Andy RoddickAmerican tennis player · b. 1982
Help out

Finish Waterloo’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewMain street of Waterloo, Nebraska: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10

Questions about Waterloo’s history

What year was Waterloo founded?

The Waterloo post office opened in 1871, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

What is on the National Register in Waterloo?

One place: the J. C. Robinson House (listed 1980).

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
Start a conversation
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 the Library of Congress (18), the National Register of Historic Places (1), 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.