Waverly’s history is
mostly unwritten
The public archives hold only 3 old photos of Waverly. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.
The story so far
from Wikipedia & the U.S. CensusWaverly is a city in Bremer County, Iowa, United States. The population was 10,394 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Bremer County and is part of the Waterloo-Cedar Falls metropolitan area. Waverly is situated along the Cedar River and is accessible via the Avenue of the Saints for transportation. The sister city of Waverly is the German city of Eisenach, which is famous for the Wartburg castle. Waverly is the location of Wartburg College, which is named after the castle.
Waverly was established in 1853. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 9,874 to 10,394 (+5%). Half of its homes were built before 1977.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Waverly yet — the old photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Intro from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Population and housing: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
built from the dates on the items belowStart Waverly’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Waverly’s history is told.
2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🔁Retake an old viewPortrait of unidentified children…, c. 1900: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10Waverly, decade by decade
1990s
10 historic places in Waverly
Waverly has 10 listings on the National Register, and they protect 487 historic buildings, because Harmon and LeValley Northwest Historic District alone counts 220.
Where they are
When they were listed
Listed 2003Bremer County Court HouseListed 1976Waverly HouseListed 1978Wartburg Teachers' SeminaryListed 2013Old Fourth Ward Southeast Historic DistrictListed 2014Waverly East Bremer Avenue Commercial Historic DistrictListed 2014Harmon and LeValley Northwest Historic DistrictListed 2016Sturdevant Southwest Historic DistrictListed 2018Third Street Bridge (FHWA No. 012250)Listed 2022Wartburg College Historic DistrictListed 2026Waverly Municipal Hydroelectric Powerhouse (Boundary Increase)Then & now
No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Portrait of unidentified children, ca. 1900 (c. 1900) and it appears here side by side.
🔁 Retake this view · +15Stories next door
nearby towns’ historyFrom Wikimedia Commons (6). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.