Grout Museum

The Grout Museum District is a museum complex in downtown Waterloo, Iowa, that serves as the primary local history and veterans museum for the Waterloo-Cedar Falls region. The district comprises several museum sites and house museums that document regional history and military service.

Exhibits cover regional industry, community history, and military service; highlights for many visitors include the dedicated veterans museum and the restored Victorian-era house museum that illustrates 19th-century domestic life. Programming typically includes rotating temporary exhibits, school group visits, and community events.

The museum district grew from local historical collections and has expanded into multiple sites serving research, education, and outreach in Black Hawk County. It is located in the urban center of Waterloo, within walking distance of other civic and cultural institutions.

• Sullivan Brothers: Contains a focused exhibit and memorial to the five Sullivan brothers, who were from Waterloo and were killed in action during World War II.

What to See #

• Grout Historical Museum: Houses the main local history exhibits covering Waterloo and the surrounding Black Hawk County region, including material culture, industrial history, and rotating displays.
• Sullivan Brothers Iowa Veterans Museum: Dedicated to Iowa veterans, with exhibits on state military history and a focus on local service members, including material related to the Sullivan brothers from Waterloo who died in World War II.
• Rensselaer Russell House Museum: A preserved Victorian-era house museum presenting period rooms and domestic life interpretive displays from the 19th century.