Geneva’s post office opened in 1840, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 50% of U.S. towns · #75 of 187 in Alabama. What drives it
Most of Geneva was built recently: 2% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1974. Below: maps from 1893 on and the census since 1870.
Founding year: the first Geneva post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Geneva’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Geneva is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #75 of 187 in Alabama. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Geneva’s overall grade.
Alabama towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Alabama town has 2.7 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Geneva’s 2.4 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Alabama towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C to B+. The pre-1940 share (±2.7 points) is firm at this size. The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Geneva’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1893Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Timeline
Geneva, 1840 to 1980
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
In late December 1862, the stern-wheel steamship Bloomer was in port on the Choctawhatchee River in Geneva. She was captured by a group of Union troops from the 91st New York Volunteers led by Lieutenant James H. Stewart. The Bloomer was then taken to Pensacola, Florida.
On March 10, 2009, in the Alabama towns of Kinston, Samson, and Geneva, a man named Michael Kenneth McLendon, twenty eight, of Coffee County, committed a deadly rampage in the area. utilizing a semi-automatic rifle, a shotgun and a revolver, McLendon's spree resulted in the murder of 10 people, as well as the injury of 6 individuals.
The town suffered extensive damage from an EF2 tornado on January 25, 2026.
The Geneva post office opened in 1840, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Geneva rank for history?
Geneva is more historic than 50% of U.S. towns, #75 of 187 in Alabama. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Geneva?
One place: the Geneva Commercial Historic District (listed 2026).
How old are the homes in Geneva?
2% of Geneva’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.7 points), against a typical 3.2% for an Alabama town; the median home was built in 1974.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (4), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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