The Waterloo Historic District encompasses the site of one of the first mills on the Warner River, near the Waterloo Falls in Warner, New Hampshire. The 50-acre (20 ha) district includes most of the original 60-acre (24 ha) land grant for the mill site. It extends along Waterloo Street and Newmarket Street for a length of about 1 mile (1.6 km), from where Newmarket Street crosses the Warner River to where Waterloo Street crosses a brook. In addition to its industrial history, the district is notable for being home to two nationally known politicians: William E. Chandler (1835-1917), who served as United States Senator and as United States Secretary of the Navy, and Nehemiah G. Ordway (1828-1907), the seventh governor of the Dakota Territory.[2]
This part of Warner was first sold off for development in the 1770s, and the first sawmill was operating by 1789. The oldest surviving house in the district, a 1+1⁄2-story Cape style house, was built in 1791, and a significant number of houses in the district were built before 1820. William Chandler's house, purchased by him in 1872, was built in 1805, and he purchased a nearby 1820s house for staff he needed for entertaining high-profile guests. Nehemiah Ordway's house, at the corner of Newmarket and Waterloo, was built in 1828, but was restyled in the early 20th century to give it a Colonial Revival appearance.[2]
Several non-residential buildings have survived, although most have been repurposed into residences. The Bean Tavern is a Georgian structure built in 1793. Two structures that served as train stations survive, one built in 1849, which was moved a short distance to make way for the second, built in 1910. The principal surviving industrial building is the 1836 Chandler Mill, whose surviving 2+1⁄2-story portion stands off Newmarket Street between the railroad tracks and the river. Remnants of earlier mill foundations lie nearby. The district also includes a cemetery (1815), and a c. 1810 one-room schoolhouse.[2]
