Our Heritage
I Bet You Didn't Know…
Waterloo holds its place in the Guinness Book of World Records for the “most national flags displayed in a single town, in a single day”. It was on the “Celebrate Commemorate Weekend, 2000.” Total flags..… 25,898!!
In 1858, Fred Furniss of Waterloo wanted a more comfortable way to travel long distances by railroad, so he designed a train car that would enable a traveler to stretch out and get some sleep. He later sold the design to George Pullman, and it is known today as the Pullman Sleeping Car.
Mr. Wells of “Wells Fargo” fame, grew up in Seneca Falls.
Goulds Pumps produced more than just pumps in the early days of manufacturing. They also produced flat irons, bells, and corn shellers.
Seneca Falls gets walked on every day in Hollywood!! The stars located on the “Hollywood Walk of Fame” were manufactured in Seneca Falls at Matthews International.
In the early days, The Geneva Lake Front was thriving with barley mills and industry. The end of the lake was actually filled in when Route 5 & 20 were developed. Prior to 1830, there were 13 distilleries located in Geneva.
Baseball legend Pete Rose and Tony Perez played for the Geneva Red Legs in 1961.
Norman J. Goulds' Father nominated Abraham Lincoln for President. At the time of Lincoln’s assassination at The Fords Theatre, one of the guests in Lincoln’s box was a woman from Seneca Falls, Clara Harris. She was the fiancée of a senator, who was invited to attend that evening.
Elizabeth Blackwell was the first woman in America to receive a degree as a Doctor of Medicine. She graduated in 1847, from Geneva Medical College, now Hobart & William Smith Colleges.
What does the Astronaut Admiral Perry, and some of the NBA Basketball players have in common with Seneca Falls? They all have worn socks from the Seneca Knitting Mill.
Today’s modern bicycle chain drive and sprocket design was invented by Waterloo resident Louis Burgess in 1898.
Memorial Day was first suggested by Henery Wells and became a reality through the efforts of General John B. Murry in the year 1866. Waterloo was officially proclaimed the Birthplace of Memorial Day by the Congress of The United States, May 1966.
The “modern” method of embalming was developed by Charles Genung of Waterloo back in 1899.
Remember seeing pictures of those big hoop skirts back in the old days? They were known as “Bloomer Skirts”, and the inventor Amelia Bloomer, was a Seneca Falls resident.
John Johnson designed tile to be used for drainage in his fields here in Waterloo back in 1835. His methods are still used for agriculture field drainage nation wide.
Fact or Fiction? Was the movie “It's a Wonderful Life” starring Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed, really based in Seneca Falls?
Watch the movie and listen closely! (Check out our movie poster and read 13 reasons why people associate the movie with Seneca Falls.)
The signature “Woody” car originated in Waterloo, contrary to the popular belief that the wood sided station wagon got its start as a surfers beach car in southern California.
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