Waterloo (village), New York

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Waterloo is a village in Seneca County, New York, United States. The population was 5,111 at the 2000 census. The county and village are named after the Waterloo in Belgium, where Napoleon was defeated.

The Village of Waterloo is mostly in the Town of Waterloo, but a small south part of the village is in the Town of Fayette. Waterloo is east of Geneva, New York.

Waterloo is one of the two county seats of Seneca County. It is the designated "Birthplace of Memorial Day."

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 External links

[edit] History

The area was within the realm of the Iroquois, who were visited by Jesuit missionaries in the 17th Century. After the Sullivan Expedition of 1779 passed through the region, many natives left the area. The land then became part of the Central New York Military Tract, reserved for veterans.

The current site of the village was the location of the former Cayuga village "Skoiyase" ("flowing water"). The first new settler, Jabez Gorham, arrived on the site of the village around 1795. The early village was known as "New Hudson."

Because the original county seat in Ovid was deemed too close to the south county line after land was lost from Seneca County, Waterloo became the county seat in 1819. A similar fate befell on Waterloo, when much of the north of Seneca County was lost, leaving the village close to the northern county line. The outcome was that both villages are currently joint county seats, even though some of the lost towns have been returned to the county.

Planning for the Womens' Rights Convention in 1848 in Seneca Falls took place in Waterloo.

The Village of Waterloo was incorporated in 1824 and again in 1866, the same year it celebrated the first Memorial Day. Waterloo has been officially designated as the birthplace of Memorial Day.

[edit] Geography

Waterloo is located at 42°54′13″N, 76°51′34″W (42.903697, -76.859517)^GR1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 5.6 km² (2.2 mi²). 5.4 km² (2.1 mi²) of it is land and 0.2 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (3.24%) is water.

The Seneca River/Cayuga-Seneca Canal pass through the village, linking the area to the Erie Canal system.

US Route 20, conjoined with New York State Route 5, intersects New York State Route 96 in the village.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 5,111 people, 1,939 households, and 1,285 families residing in the village. The population density was 939.7/km² (2,439.3/mi²). There were 2,050 housing units at an average density of 376.9/km² (978.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the village was 97.61% White, 0.82% Black or African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.49% Asian, 0.18% from other races, and 0.78% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.17% of the population.

There were 1,939 households out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.5% were married couples living together, 14.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.7% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.01.

In the village the population was spread out with 24.5% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 84.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.8 males.

The median income for a household in the village was $33,571, and the median income for a family was $41,725. Males had a median income of $34,911 versus $23,385 for females. The per capita income for the village was $16,538. About 7.2% of families and 12.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 19.9% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.