The area was within the realm of the Cayuga nation, one of several bands to form the Iroquois League.

After the Sullivan Expedition of 1779 destroyed Skoiyase, many natives left the area.

The land then became part of the Central New York Military Tract, reserved for veterans.

[6] In honor of the two-shire history, the County Board of Supervisors will at least once a year hold a meeting in Ovid at the buildings locally called the "Three Bears".

Planning for the Women's Rights Convention in 1848 in Seneca Falls took place in Waterloo.

[12] The Village of Waterloo was incorporated in 1824 and again in 1866, the same year it celebrated the first Memorial Day.

Waterloo was officially designated as the birthplace of Memorial Day in 1966 by President Lyndon B.

However, in 2014, Bellware and Gardiner challenged this designation in The Genesis of the Memorial Day Holiday in America.

They uncovered evidence that the origin story is a hoax including information ignored by the Centennial Committee backing the proclamation.

This includes a report in a New York newspaper that predates by several years any of the sources used by the committee.

They also note other inconsistencies between the historical record and the story compiled by the Centennial Committee and the lack of discussion or debate in Congress prior to the resolution recognizing Waterloo as the birthplace of the holiday.