![]() Instead of a race riot, a strike ensued against the Rath Company. ![]() In 1948, a black strikebreaker killed a white union member. In 1940, more black strikebreakers were brought in to work in the Rath meat plant. Black workers were relegated to 20 square blocks in Waterloo, an area that remains the east side to this day. In 1910, a significant number of black railroad workers were brought in as strikebreakers to the Waterloo area. Deere remains a strong presence in the city, but employs only roughly one-third the number of people it did at its peak. Today the city enjoys a broader industrial base, as city leaders have sought to diversify its industrial and commercial mix. It is estimated that Waterloo lost 14% of its population during this time. John Deere, the area's largest employer, cut 10,000 jobs, and the Rath meatpacking plant closed altogether, losing 2,500 jobs. Waterloo suffered in the agricultural recession of the 1980s its major employers at the time were heavily rooted in agriculture. He was taken to Allen Memorial Hospital in Waterloo, where he soon died. Accidentally parking next to a police car and wasting time dropping his gun and picking it back up, Carroll was forced to flee into an alley, where he was shot. On June 7, 1934, bank robber Tommy Carroll had a shootout with the FBI when he and his wife stopped to pick up gas. Among the others was the less-successful brass era automobile manufacturer, the Maytag-Mason Motor Company. Another major employer throughout the first two-thirds of the 20th century was the Illinois Central Railroad. During this period the Waterloo Gasoline Traction Engine Company moved to Waterloo and, shortly after, the Rath Packing Company moved from Dubuque. The 1895 to 1915 period was a time of rapid growth in manufacturing, rail transportation and wholesale operations. There were two extended periods of rapid growth over the next 115 years. ![]() The name struck his fancy, and a post office was established under that name. Tradition has it that as he flipped through a list of other post offices in the United States, he came upon the name Waterloo. Since the signed petition did not include the name of the proposed post office location, Mullan was charged with selecting the name when he submitted the petition. The name Waterloo supplanted the original name, Prairie Rapids Crossing, shortly after Charles Mullan petitioned for a post office in the town. On December 8, 1845, the Iowa State Register and Waterloo Herald was the first newspaper published in Waterloo. Evidence of these earliest families can still be found in the street names Hanna Boulevard, Mullan Avenue and Virden Creek. They were followed by the Virden and Mullan families in 1846. ![]() It was first settled in 1845 when George and Mary Melrose Hanna and their children arrived on the east bank of the Red Cedar River (now just called the Cedar River). The town was established near two Meskwaki American tribal seasonal camps alongside the Cedar River. Waterloo was originally known as Prairie Rapids Crossing. ![]()
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