Waterloo Library

Built in 1883 (Queen Anne style). Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1996. 9 historic topographic surveys show this location, the earliest from 1902.

From the record

“Waterloo Library, also known as the Waterloo Library and Historical Society, is a historic library building located at Waterloo in Seneca County, New York. The second story of the two-story frame structure contains a small theater.”
Wikipedia article Waterloo Library, CC BY-SA 4.0.

One of 40 National Register listings published here for Seneca County · listed in 1996 · category: Building · built in 1883, Queen Anne style.

Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service

The listing

What is counted as historic. The nomination lists 1 building as contributing to the listing.
Address. 31 Williams St., Waterloo, 13165
When was it listed? June 1996
Category. building
Town. Waterloo town
When was it built? 1883
Architectural style. Queen Anne style
National Register reference number. 96000676 - the number the National Park Service assigned this property when it was listed, and the key its nomination file is catalogued under at the National Archives.

Fires near this property

105 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 105 fires within 5 miles of Waterloo Library between 1997 and 2020, burning about 124 acres in total. 9 started naturally. 19 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause	Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined	51
Arson/incendiarism	19
Debris and open burning	17
Natural	9
Equipment and vehicle use	7
Smoking	2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

Date	Cause	Size	Reported by	Name on the report
5 September 2004	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
26 September 2016	Natural	6.3 acres	Fire Department of New York	N/A
21 September 2010	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
14 September 2019	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	N/A
14 September 2016	Arson/incendiarism	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	N/A
14 September 2012	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
13 September 2012	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named
8 August 2005	Missing data/not specified/undetermined	under an acre	Fire Department of New York	not named

Every fire recorded in Seneca County

Mines and quarries near this property

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Waterloo Library: 2 producers, 1 past producer. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Limestone, General, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Site	Commodity	Status	Recorded
Devils Gulch Pit	Sand and Gravel, Construction	Producer
Seneca Quarry	Stone, Crushed/Broken	Producer
Seneca Quarry and Plant	Limestone, General	Past Producer	Sedimentary

Every working recorded in Seneca County

Storms near this property

29 since 1996

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Waterloo, the town this property stands in, in 29 storm reports between 1996 and 2024: 17 thunderstorm wind, 10 hail, 2 flash flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

When	Event	Place named	Harm	What the report says
September 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Waterloo	$250,000	A long lived severe convective wind system or derecho moved into northern portions of the county just before 100 am EDT. These same storms had caused considerable damage upstream in the Rochester area. Widespread wind damage occurred in the town of Waterloo and also across Seneca Falls. Most of the damage was in the form of downed trees and power lines. From approximately 1255 am to 110 am EDT, the town of Waterloo experienced strong damaging winds and large hail. Many roads in the center of town had to be closed through the morning hours on Labor Day as crews worked to clear fallen trees, live wires, and damaged traffic signals. Downstream in Seneca Falls, similar damage was reported. Just before 120 am EDT, a swath of trees was blown down on the western shores of Cayuga Lake and inflicted minor damage on several small boats anchored in the vicinity. Several vacation homes in this area incurred minor roof and siding damage from large tree limbs which succumbed to the wind.
October 2021	Flash Flood	Waterloo	$100,000	Numerous roads, and a few homes, were flooded throughout the village. Many roads were closed and a State of Emergency was in effect for the area.
May 1996	Thunderstorm Wind	Waterloo	$12,000	no account filed
July 2018	Thunderstorm Wind	Waterloo	$10,000	Strong thunderstorm winds knocked down trees and wires on Inslee Street.
June 2005	Thunderstorm Wind	Waterloo	$10,000	Thunderstorm winds downed trees and wires.
May 1998	Thunderstorm Wind	Waterloo	$10,000	A cluster of developing severe thunderstorms moved through central and southern portions of the county. Numerous trees and wires were downed in Waterloo at approximately 6:07 pm EDT.
July 2024	Thunderstorm Wind	Waterloo	$5,000	Strong thunderstorm winds knocked down trees. One large tree fell onto a home. Unknown if there were any injuries.
May 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Waterloo	$5,000	Strong thunderstorm winds brought down a tree on County Route 96.
July 2020	Thunderstorm Wind	Waterloo	$5,000	Strong thunderstorm winds brought down a tree on West Town Line Road.
May 2013	Thunderstorm Wind	Waterloo	$5,000	Trees reported down at the intersection of State Route 96 and Burgess Road in the Village of Waterloo.
May 2011	Thunderstorm Wind	Waterloo	$5,000	A tree was blown down on a camping trailer.
June 2015	Thunderstorm Wind	Waterloo	$4,000	Thunderstorm winds estimated over 65 knots caused trees and wires to fall down.
April 1996	Flash Flood	Waterloo	$3,000	no account filed
June 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Waterloo	$1,000	Strong thunderstorm winds knocked down a tree across the road.
June 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Waterloo	$1,000	Strong thunderstorm winds knocked down a tree onto the road.
August 2021	Thunderstorm Wind	Waterloo	$1,000	Strong thunderstorm winds knocked down a tree onto Marshall Road.
July 2010	Thunderstorm Wind	Waterloo	$1,000	Several trees and power lines were blown down.
June 2007	Thunderstorm Wind	Waterloo	-	Trees, wires and utility poles were blown down county-wide.
July 2000	Thunderstorm Wind	Waterloo	-	Trees and wires were blown down by thunderstorm winds acorss the northern portion of Seneca county, mainly around Waterloo. 1/2 inch diameter hail was also reported.
July 2014	Hail	Waterloo	-	no account filed
May 2013	Hail	Waterloo	-	no account filed
May 2013	Hail	Waterloo	-	no account filed
May 2013	Hail	Waterloo	-	no account filed
May 2013	Hail	Waterloo	-	no account filed
May 2013	Hail	Waterloo	-	no account filed
May 2013	Hail	Waterloo	-	no account filed
May 2012	Hail	Waterloo	-	no account filed
June 2007	Hail	Waterloo	-	no account filed
June 2006	Hail	Waterloo	-	no account filed

Every storm recorded in Seneca County

Maps showing this location

9 surveys

United States Geological Survey topographic sheets whose coverage includes this point. Matched by taking the coordinate the National Park Service records for this property, then testing that coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet.

1902 USGS Geneva quadrangle1:62500 - 7 printings
1943 USGS Seneca Falls quadrangle1:24000
1943 USGS Seneca Falls quadrangle1:31680
1950 USGS Elmira quadrangle1:250000 - 2 printings
1953 USGS Seneca Falls quadrangle1:24000 - 4 printings
1958 USGS Elmira quadrangle1:250000 - 2 printings
1962 USGS Elmira quadrangle1:250000 - 4 printings
1965 USGS Elmira quadrangle1:250000
1986 USGS Auburn quadrangle1:100000 - 2 printings

Listed places nearby

6 within 8 miles

Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.

Property	Distance	Listed
M'Clintock House	under 500 feet	1980
Saint Paul's Church	under 500 feet	1997
William H. Burton House	under 500 feet	1996
James Russell Webster House	0.1 miles	2007
First Presbyterian Church	0.1 miles	1996
US Post Office-Waterloo	0.1 miles	1989

Sources for this property

National Archives record	The nomination case file for reference 96000676 in Record Group 79.
Wikipedia article	Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA.
Seneca County	All 40 listed properties in this county.

Provenance

Listing record. National Park Service National Register of Historic Places, listed-properties dataset, current to 2026-05-22.
Map join. Address geocoded through the United States Census geocoder, then tested against the published boundary of every sheet in the USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection.
How this page is made. Listing fields come from federal records; map-sheet coverage is a labelled coordinate-to-boundary calculation, not a source-field claim.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.