The fountain and bronze plaque at the corner of the Home Savings and Loan parking lot commemorate the life of Waterloo native Lou Henry.

She was born in 1875, the daughter of a bookkeeper at First National Bank. The family moved to Whittier, California, in 1885 because of the mother's poor health.

She started college at San Jose Normal School but transferred to Stanford University when she developed an interest in geology. She was the first woman to earn a degree in geology from Stanford. It was there, as a freshman, that she met Herbert Hoover, who was then a senior. They were married in 1899, the year after her graduation.

Lou Henry Hoover played an active part in her husband's career as a mining engineer, humanitarian, secretary of commerce and president. She received eight honorary degrees in recognition of her many public activities during and after her husband's presidency (1929-33).

She died in 1944, and is buried next to her husband on the grounds of the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library in West Branch, Iowa.