Waterloo, South Carolina
13 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1892 and the latest in 1979. It stands in the Cross Hill census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29384. The Survey maps it on the Waterloo quadrangle. 149 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 610 feet above sea level.
Population over time
3 figuresWaterloo fell from 203 to 149 between 2000 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 203 | |
| 2010 | 166 | -37 (-18%) |
| 2020 | 149 | -17 (-10%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
5 surveys from 13 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1892 USGS Abbeville quadrangle1:125000, 6 printings
- 1954 USGS Greenville quadrangle1:250000, 3 printings
- 1958 USGS Greenville quadrangle1:250000
- 1971 USGS Waterloo quadrangle1:24000
- 1979 USGS Abbeville quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
132 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 132 fires within 5 miles of Waterloo between 1992 and 2020, burning about 888 acres in total. 6 started naturally. 16 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 | 64 |
| Debris and open burning | 28 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 16 |
| Smoking | 7 |
| Natural | 6 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 4 |
| Railroad operations and maintenance | 3 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 2 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 1 |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 4.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 21 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | 7.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 2 September 1998 | Natural | 40 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 19 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 16 September 2019 | Debris and open burning | 11 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | NANALOO FIRE |
| 13 September 2019 | Natural | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 12 September 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 11 September 2007 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 112 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
4 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Waterloo: 3 past producers, 1 prospect. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Gold, Mica, Stone, Crushed/Broken, Granite. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bailey Mine | Mica | Past Producer | ||
| Cold Point Granite Company Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken, Granite | Past Producer | 1910 | |
| Raeburn Creek Prospect | Gold | Past Producer | Vein | |
| Raeburn Creek Prospect | Gold | Prospect |
Storms near this place
36 since 1996Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Waterloo in 36 storm reports between 1996 and 2025: 26 thunderstorm wind, 6 hail, 2 tornado, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1998 | Tornado (F0) | Waterloo | $70,000 | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | $25,000 | no account filed |
| December 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | $10,000 | Emergency manager reported multiple trees blown down along with damage to some roofs and a porch near the shore of Lake Greenwood. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | $5,000 | Public reported a home along Lake Greenwood in the Waterloo area sustained damage to siding, thrown patio furniture, and a bent flag pole. Multiple tree limbs were also blown down. |
| July 2003 | Tornado (F0) | Waterloo | $1,000 | This weak tornado blew down numerous large tree limbs as well as a few large trees as it tracked from just east of Lake Greenwood to the town of Waterloo. Some crops were damaged near Waterloo. |
| January 2023 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | County comms reported numerous trees and power lines blown down across Laurens County. |
| July 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | Highway patrol reported a tree blown down along Neely Ferry Rd and another tree down on Coggins Dairy Rd. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | County comms reported trees blown down in the Waterloo area. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | County comms reported many trees and power lines blown down in association with a second storm cluster across the southern part of Laurens County. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | A few trees were blown down, including one large tree, near Waterloo. Also, the roof of a porch was lifted from a home near Lake Greenwood. |
| July 2013 | Flash Flood | Waterloo | - | Todd Quarter Road was losed due to flooding at the bridge over Long Lick Branch. |
| July 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | Several trees were knocked down between Waterloo and Laurens. Some trees were knocked down by strong winds, though most of them likely fell more a result of torrential rain and saturated soil. A tree fell on a home near Laurens. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | A few trees were blown down in the Waterloo area. |
| February 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | A tree was blown down on Todd Quarter Rd at Cressy Bridge Rd and another on Dillard Rd near highway 221. |
| March 2011 | Hail | Waterloo | - | Hail up to the size of pennies covered the ground up to 2 inches deep. |
| March 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | Numerous trees were blown down from the Waterloo area to Cross Hill. A car port was also lifted and tossed 4 S Cross Hill. |
| March 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | A tree was blown down on Riverfork Rd and another on Cannon Rd about 4 miles west southwest of Waterloo. |
| March 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | Trees blown down in Waterloo and Cross Hill. |
| July 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | Trees blown down at the intersection of highway 221 and SSR 54. |
| July 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | Several trees down west of Waterloo near the Greenwood line. |
| September 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | Trees blown down. |
| April 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | Trees down and non-specific large hail. |
| July 2005 | Flash Flood | Waterloo | - | Water covered a bridge. |
| August 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | Numerous trees down on roads, including Medical Bridge Rd, Torrington Rd, River Fork Rd, and highway 221. |
| November 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | A tree and some large limbs blown down along highway 221. |
| July 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | Trees were blown down. |
| September 2000 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | Several trees were blown down on Skippers Lodge Road and along Hwy 72. |
| April 2006 | Hail | Waterloo | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Hail | Waterloo | - | no account filed |
| May 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | no account filed |
| April 2005 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | no account filed |
| June 2004 | Hail | Waterloo | - | no account filed |
| July 2002 | Hail | Waterloo | - | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Hail | Waterloo | - | no account filed |
| June 1999 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | no account filed |
| April 1997 | Thunderstorm Wind | Waterloo | - | no account filed |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Harris Springs | 2.2 miles | 13 | |
| Isle of Pines | 2.6 miles | 13 | |
| Collins Lakeside Village | 3.9 miles | 13 | |
| Cold Point | 4.9 miles | 13 | |
| Mountville | 4.9 miles | 12 | |
| Baldwin | 5.1 miles | 13 | |
| Cross Hill | 5.2 miles | 12 | |
| Mount Olive | 5.4 miles | 13 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Waterloo | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2648915 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1231896. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
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.




