It was built starting in June 1915 and first meeting was held there in December of the same year by the Grand Army of the Republic as a memorial to soldiers who died in the American Civil War.

from Cedar Falls, La Porte City, and Waterloo built the hall as a memorial to soldiers who had lost their lives in the American Civil War.

[5] A Cedar Falls resident, H. R. Griffith, was originally supposed to speak at the 1916 dedication ceremony, but could not due to being ill. She was the Department Secretary of the Woman's Relief Corps, which is part of the Grand Army of the Republic.

Also included are a Georgian marble water fountain, numerous limestone monuments, picnic tables, and a miniature Statue of Liberty donated by the Boy Scouts of America in 1950.

[2][10] The Black Hawk County Soldiers Memorial Hall was nominated to the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) in 1987.

The nomination was based on the fact that other Veteran Memorial Halls had been significantly altered in various respects, whereas the Waterloo facility had substantially maintained its original appearance and integrity.