Waterloo is a town in Grant and Smithfield townships,

DeKalb County DeKalb County may refer to one of several counties in the United States, all of which were named for Baron Johann de Kalb: * DeKalb County, Alabama DeKalb County is a County (United States), county in the Northeast Alabama, northeastern part ...

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

, United States. The population was 2,116 at the 2020 census.

History

Waterloo was laid out in 1856 when the railroad was extended to that point. It was likely named after Waterloo, in Belgium. The Waterloo Community Mausoleum was added to the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2014.

Geography

According to the 2010 census, Waterloo has a total area of , all land. A nearly complete

mastodon A mastodon, from Ancient Greek μαστός (''mastós''), meaning "breast", and ὀδούς (''odoús'') "tooth", is a member of the genus ''Mammut'' (German for 'mammoth'), which was endemic to North America and lived from the late Miocene to ...

skeleton discovered near Waterloo in 1888 is displayed at the

Carnegie Museum of Natural History The Carnegie Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as CMNH) is a natural history museum in the Oakland (Pittsburgh), Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was founded by List of people from the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, Pit ...

in Pittsburgh.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 2,242 people, 809 households, and 577 families living in the town. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 942 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 95.3%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.5%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.1% Native American, 1.7% from other races, and 2.4% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 3.8% of the population. There were 809 households, of which 42.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.1% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 16.8% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.4% had a male householder with no wife present, and 28.7% were non-families. 23.4% of all households were made up of individuals, and 7.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.77 and the average family size was 3.19. The median age in the town was 31.5 years. 30% of residents were under the age of 18; 10.1% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 29.1% were from 25 to 44; 22.9% were from 45 to 64; and 8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the town was 50.6% male and 49.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 2,200 people, 832 households, and 584 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 898 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 95.50%

, 0.23%

, 0.45% Native American, 0.18% Asian, 2.82% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 3.68% of the population. There were 832 households, out of which 39.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.3% were

living together, 11.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.7% were non-families. 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.10. In the town, the population was spread out, with 30.4% under the age of 18, 9.5% from 18 to 24, 33.0% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 8.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 31 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.8 males. The median income for a household in the town was $39,831, and the median income for a family was $45,625. Males had a median income of $35,035 versus $24,635 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $16,248. About 7.9% of families and 12.4% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 16.8% of those under age 18 and 17.8% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Waterloo lies in the Dekalb County Central United School District. Public schools serving Waterloo are: *Waterloo Elementary School *DeKalb Middle School *DeKalb High School The town is served by the Waterloo-Grant Township Public Library, one of four public libraries in Dekalb County. It is a Carnegie library that opened in 1913.

Rail transportation

Waterloo is located on the old

Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway The Lake Shore and Michigan Southern Railway, established in 1833, and sometimes referred to as the Lake Shore, was a major part of the New York Central Railroad's Water Level Route from Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, New York, to Chicago, Illinoi ...

, and is now on the

Norfolk Southern Railway The Norfolk Southern Railway is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States. Headquartered in Atlanta, the company was formed in 1982 with the merger of the Norfolk and Western Railway and Southern Railway. The comp ...

. The town is now served daily by two

Amtrak The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak (; ), is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates intercity rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...

trains: the '' Capitol Limited'' and the ''

Lake Shore Limited The ''Lake Shore Limited'' is an Amtrak Long Distance, overnight passenger train operated by Amtrak between Chicago and the Northeastern United States, with sections to New York City and Boston. The central segment of the route runs along the s ...

''. In October 2010, the Town of Waterloo received a $1.8 million grant from the federal government to build a longer platform just east of the current station, bringing it up to ADA standards, and add a canopy, lighting, and interactive signage. Ultimately, the platform was not built, but the grant was used to install the lighting and electronic signage, as well as a parking lot, in 2016. The previous rail depot, which was restored in 2010, was moved closer to the existing platform and reopened to Amtrak passengers.

Media

WINT-TV, Channel 15, which became

WANE-TV WANE-TV (channel 15) is a television station in Fort Wayne, Indiana, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Nexstar Media Group. The station's studios and transmitter are located on West State Boulevard in the List of neighborhoods in ...

Fort Wayne Fort Wayne is a city in Allen County, Indiana, United States, and its county seat. Located in northeastern Indiana, the city is west of the Ohio border and south of the Michigan border. The city's population was 263,886 at the 2020 United S ...

, in 1956, began broadcasting from studios in Waterloo in 1954.

References

External links

Waterloo Chamber of Commerce

Official website

DeKalb County Central United School District

VIDEO: Waterloo, Indiana (1937)
{{authority control Towns in DeKalb County, Indiana Towns in Indiana Populated places established in 1856 1856 establishments in Indiana