Waterloo (Images of America)

By: Bonnie J. Breese

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Synopsis: Located in the heart of the Finger Lakes of upstate New York is the quaint village of Waterloo in Seneca County. Because the village spanned both sides of the Seneca River, it was founded in two stages: the southern side in 1792 by Samuel Bear and the northern side in 1807 by Elisha Williams. It is best known as the birthplace of Memorial Day, which was first celebrated by the citizens of Waterloo in May 1866, one year after the end of the Civil War, to honor those lost. Waterloo was also where the women's rights movement was originally conceived. In the 1800s, it became a thriving industrial town manufacturing wagons, pianos, woolen goods, organs, and many other products. It is the home of the historic Scythe Tree, where farm boys hung their scythes before going off to war, and of Barney Oldfield, Louise Scherbyn, and Richard P. Hunt, among others.