The site of Waterloo City Hall and its parking lot was assembled from several historic properties tied to the city’s early growth. In 1816, George Forquer bought land that later became part of Waterloo and, with Daniel P. Cook, began laying out plans for the city. Forquer built the first section of his home in 1833 on the south side of Waterloo’s public square. In 1840, James B. Needles and John Gall bought lot 76, and in 1843 bought lot 75, then operated a drug store there called Needles and Gall for about ten years. In 1928, William F. and Mrs. Mueller moved into the home, and their son Alfred Mueller later stored Monroe County Historical Society books and memorabilia there and operated a TV shop from the house. He was the last resident of the eleven-room white frame home, which was demolished in 1996 so a new City Hall could be built, and the present Waterloo City Hall opened on October 31, 1997. Nearby, Joseph W. Hilton built the Hilton Hotel in 1854 on the south side of Fourth Street. The two-and-a-half-story hotel had ten rooms and six fireplaces, and Hilton also ran a livery stable and a stagecoach line and mail service beside it, carrying passengers between Waterloo and the Green Tree Hotel and Tavern and the Everett House in downtown St. Louis. Sydney B. Hilton later operated the hotel and livery business, and after rail service reached Waterloo in 1873 he continued the livery stable and also ran a hack line for travelers. On September 13, 1861, Adam Kumpf acquired the hotel through foreclosure against Mathias T. Horine. Kumpf, his wife, their eleven children, Adam’s father, and three blacksmithing apprentices lived there while he operated a blacksmith and wagon shop west of the home, specializing in wagons and iron-beam plows. The property changed hands repeatedly, was later divided into apartments, and in 2004 the City of Waterloo bought the Hilton Hotel and Kumpf House property and demolished the brick building and two small houses on the site. Between the Needles and Gall store and the Hilton Hotel stood Waterloo’s first firehouse and a white home. The city bought the lot that is now the City Hall parking lot in 1890 and built the first Waterloo Firehouse there. In the era before hydrants, firefighters used a hand-pulled, man-powered pump placed over one of twelve cisterns around town, as well as a hand-drawn bucket and ladder wagon with leather buckets. After Waterloo installed a water system and hydrants, the department used hose carts pulled by men. In 1933, the old firehouse was sold and removed to make way for a new brick firehouse that also included City Hall space. While it was under construction, the fire department used Martin Schilling’s large garage, and in the same year the city bought its first fire truck. The new firehouse and City Hall opened in January 1934, City Council meetings moved there in 1937, and the water tower still in operation was built about five years later. In 1961, the fire department moved to a new headquarters on North Main Street and the building was remodeled for more office space. The adjacent white home had been occupied in the 1860s by blacksmith Phillip Arras, who rang the fire alarm when needed and later served on the village board and as assessor and treasurer from 1894 to 1898. Its last owners were Walter and Norma Nobbe, who had it torn down; a car wash later stood there until the City of Waterloo acquired the property in 1992. When City Hall offices moved into the current building in 1997, the 1933 City Hall and firehouse building and the car wash were demolished to create the city parking lot.