Waterloo-Cedar Falls, Iowa
Waterloo, Iowa
Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 68,747. It belongs to the Waterloo-Cedar Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is the larger of the two cities, by population. Waterloo was originally known as "Prairie Rapids Crossing". The town was established near two Meskwaki Native American villages alongside the Cedar River. It was first settled in 1845 when George and Mary Hanna and their children arrived on the east bank of the Red Cedar River (now just called the Cedar River). They were followed by the Virden and Mullan families in 1846. Evidence of these earliest families can still be found in the street names Hanna Blvd., Mullan Avenue and Virden Creek. The name "Waterloo" supplanted the original name, "Prairie Rapids Crossing" shortly after Charles Mullan petitioned for a post office in the town.
Cedar Falls, Iowa
Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States, and it is home to one of Iowa's three public universities, the University of Northern Iowa. The population was 36,145 at the 2000 census. It has the smaller population of the two principal cities in the Cedar Falls-Waterloo, Iowa Metropolitan Statistical Area. Cedar Falls was founded in 1845 by William Sturgis. It was originally named Sturgis Falls, for the first family who settled the site. The Sturgis family moved on within a few years and the city was renamed Cedar Falls because of its proximity to the Cedar River.