Waterloo Village is a 19th century restored village that covers the time from a 400-year old Lenape (Delaware) Indian village to a bustling port along the once prosperous Morris Canal.
The Village is a working mill complex with gristmills and sawmills, a general store, blacksmith shop and several historic houses. During the summer months, there are classical and popular music concerts.
Waterloo Village is rich in history, dating back to the time of the Munsee (Lenape) Indians who inhabited northern New Jersey and made use of the rich natural resources and the abundance of the landscape and waterways.
With the discovery of rich veins of iron nearby, the Andover Forge was established here, making bar iron for shipment to England before the American Revolution.
The valleys of Northwest New Jersey, created by the earth's glacial retreat, left a fertile area with wildlife that eventually was settled at first by the paleo Indians around 8000 BC, and the Lenape, or Delaware tribes. The Lenape tribe was one of the most advanced and civilized in the eastern US.
The culture flourished until the arrival of the first European fur traders in the mid 1600s and the inevitable procession west, spurred by copper mining near the Delaware River and trade along the old mine road from Philadelphia to Kingston, NY.
The Lenape Village at historic Waterloo Village was created to help visualize the past. Located on an island in Waterloo Lake, the Lenape Village, called Winakung ("Place of Sassafras"), is surrounded by thousands of acres of wooded forests, stone cliffs, streams and marshes, home to beaver, osprey, and the occasional bear. It is a place of wonder and a land seemingly left alone by time. Here you can walk 400 years into the past and experience an ancient and gentler way of life. Dotted with bark wigwams, longhouses, native garden, fishing, hunting, and cooking areas, the village revives the Lenape world as it might have been in 1630, when European traders visited Indian communities to barter metal pots, iron axes, scissors, cloth, glass beads and other items for the Indians' furs and skins.
For a more relaxing experience, picnicking in Waterloo is a wonderful way to enjoy your outing. Bring a blanket and park under a shady tree. Picnicking tables and facilities are available at nearby Stephens State Park including: picnic tables, group picnic facilities, a group picnic shelter, and playgrounds.