The city of Waterville like many others was once much larger.Once there were two banks,two hotels, a railroad built to haul iron ore from a mine northeast of Waukon,a car dealership, an implement dealership, a stockyard, two mills,mortuary/furnitue, pop bottler,lumber yard, post office & a host of other businesses commonly found in most cities of any size. Today all of the above are gone. We still have a store/cafe/bar, a bar, fire & rescue, novelty store & library plus Pine Bluff Camp Sites created in 2008 on land once occupied by the County garage.The school that was once a High School now houses only to 6th grade & may close. The thing most remembered by the older generation was the Rainbow Gardens Dance Hall which although closed still stood until a few years ago.The railroad lasted about 100 years until 1971. The advent of the automobile & a mobile society has drained much from smaller towns & added to larger towns. Add to this the ever enlarging size of the farms & the decrease in the nearby farm population.Today the population of Waterville is listed at just 140.