Waterloo, IA is in east central Iowa in Black Hawk County. It is the county seat and is part of the Waterloo/Cedar Rapids metropolitan area. The population of Waterloo is 68,800 with a median income of $34,100 and a median age of 36. Waterloo was originally a summer place for two Meskwaki Tribes prior to the 1840s. It was called Prairie Cedar Rapids. The first settlers, George and Mary Hanna, came to this area in 1845. Followed by the Mullens and and Virden families. The first newspaper in Waterloo was published on December 8, 1845. Mullens petitioned for a post office and on this petitioned there needed to be a name for the town. So he looked through some names in a post office book and came across Waterloo. He thought it to be a funny name and put it on the petition. The post office was built in 1951 with Waterloo as it's name. The town decided to change its name to Waterloo also. Waterloo had two huge periods of rapid growth with people and the economy. The first period was between 1895 - 1915 due to manufacturing, rail transportation and wholesale operations. The second period was between 1925 - 1960 due to the automobile. Waterloo did not do well during the 1980s agricultural recession. John Deere cut 10,000 jobs and the Rath Meatpacking plant closed. During this time about 14% of the population had left Waterloo. Since the 2000s Waterloo has been holding its own due to a broader industrial base.
We are staying in the George Wyth State Park in Waterloo. It is a nice campground and it has great electricity but no water at the sites. We now travel with water in our fresh water tank due to not knowing if water will be available. The campground sits on the Cedar river. I have posted some photos. We were here for the night and today we are headed for Sioux Falls, SD.
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