Waterloo, Wisconsin
fourth-class city in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, United States
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.
Geography
Waterloo is located at 43°11′1″N 88°59′23″W (43.18366, -88.989965) at the intersection of Wisconsin Highway 89 and Wisconsin Highway 19 in northwestern Jefferson County.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.91 square miles (10.13 km2), of which 3.83 square miles (9.92 km2) is land and 0.08 square miles (0.21 km2) is water.
Demographics
As of 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $50,221, and the median income for a family was $56,446. The per capita income for the city was $23,011. About 5.0% of families and 4.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.8% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Waterloo, Wisconsin” as fourth-class city in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, United States. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as fourth-class city in Jefferson County, Wisconsin, United States. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 18, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1569723. VIAF identifies the subject as 133741876. The Library of Congress control number is n84124029. Authority coordinates are 43.184, -88.990. 2 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020 and 2000.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Waterloo, Wisconsin”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Waterloo, Wisconsin primary sources, Waterloo, Wisconsin archive and Waterloo research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Waterloo, Wisconsin”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Waterloo, Wisconsin” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.