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History · Waterloo

29% of Waterloo’s homes were built before 1940

Its Register listing is the St. Wenceslaus Roman Catholic Church. Below: maps from 1891 on and the census since 1870.

1on the National Register
29%homes built before 1940
2famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory

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.On the map since 18914 editions of the USGS map, 1891 to 1971. Watch Waterloo change.
★ 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.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Waterloo on the map, 1891 to 1971

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 1891 USGS mapWaterloo on the 1910 USGS mapWaterloo on the 1959 USGS mapWaterloo on the 1971 USGS map1891Waterloo 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 so far

Waterloo, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Waterloo yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Waterloo is a city in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 3,628 at the 2020 census. The name Waterloo was suggested by a French resident who was one of Napoleon's soldiers at the Battle of Waterloo. Waterloo is located in the Watertown–Fort Atkinson micropolitan area. The city is the home of Trek Bicycle Corporation.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 909 to 867 (-5%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Waterloo in 1915

Passages that mention Waterloo, cut from the printed page as they were published.

History of Waterloo 19 The land now comprising the town and village of Waterloo was, prior to 1845, a part of the town of Aztalan. From the best data available the political organization of Waterloo as a town was effected in 1 845 or 1 846, with Abram Vanderpool as its first chairman, and P. M. Bro…
History of Waterloo1915Read the page →
Read the text

History of Waterloo 19 The land now comprising the town and village of Waterloo was, prior to 1845, a part of the town of Aztalan. From the best data available the political organization of Waterloo as a town was effected in 1 845 or 1 846, with Abram Vanderpool as its first chairman, and P. M. Brooks its first clerk. J. H.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
In 1 859 the village of Waterloo was organized under a special charter which was amended in 1861. The original charter provided for a plat of one square mile ; the amendment gave the village its present boundaries embracing an area of four square miles. Its separate political existence was consumat…
History of Waterloo1915Read the page →
Read the text

In 1 859 the village of Waterloo was organized under a special charter which was amended in 1861. The original charter provided for a plat of one square mile ; the amendment gave the village its present boundaries embracing an area of four square miles. Its separate political existence was consumated in April 1859 by the election of Ira R. Rood as President; John Mosher. A. F. Mattice, William Gillet and William Munson, as trustees; William Wright, assessor; C. P. Mead,

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

Timeline

Waterloo, 1855 to 1956

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1855Born hereEveris A. Hayes is born here
  3. 1863BuiltSt. Wenceslaus Roman Catholic Church is built
  4. 1891On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  5. 1893Post officeThe Island post office opens
  6. 1894Post officeThe Island post office closes
  7. 20th century
  8. 1956Born hereTom Hamilton is born here
By decade

Waterloo, decade by decade

Today5 recent
WaterlooWisconsinSign2007WaterlooWisconsinSignWaterlooWisconsinMunicipalBuilding2007WaterlooWisconsinMunicipalBuildingWaterlooWisconsinHighSchoolSign2007WaterlooWisconsinHighSchoolSignWaterlooWisconsinDowntown2WIS89WIS192007WaterlooWisconsinDowntown2WIS89WIS19WaterlooWisconsinDOTSign2007WaterlooWisconsinDOTSign
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
1975
St. Wenceslaus Roman Catholic Church
St. Wenceslaus Roman Catholic Church, built 1863
Buildings
St. Wenceslaus Roman Catholic ChurchBuilt 1863

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

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,500188019001920194019601980200020203,492

Grew from 727 people in 1870 to 3,492 in 2020, 4 times over.

16 censuses, 1870–2020.

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

Famous people

2 famous people were born in Waterloo

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
Everis A. HayesAmerican politician · b. 1855
Tom HamiltonAmerican sportscaster · b. 1956
Places that used to be

Lost post offices and burying grounds

Another post office, Island, opened and closed inside today’s town.

4cemeteries and burying grounds inside Waterloo
JordanNevilleSetzSouth Road

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

PortlandIts storyB−MilfordIts storyA−Lake MillsIts storyBMedinaIts storyC+

Questions about Waterloo’s history

What is on the National Register in Waterloo?

One place: the St. Wenceslaus Roman Catholic Church (listed 1975).

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 Wikimedia Commons (5), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.