Founding year: the first Genesee post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Genesee’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Genesee is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Genesee’s overall grade.
Idaho towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Idaho town has 8.4 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Genesee’s 71.1 sits above most of its state (91% of Idaho towns have fewer) while its 9 historic buildings outnumber those of 75% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±5.2 points). 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 →
The story so far
Genesee, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Genesee yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Genesee is a city in Latah County, Idaho, United States. As of the 2020 census, Genesee had a population of 1,030. The city was named for the Genesee region of western New York, although it may also be a modification of the biblical Genesis. The first area of permanent settlement in the county, it was incorporated 137 years ago on October 23, 1889. It is known for its grain production. The town is on the edge of Latah County and many of the rural residents live in Nez Perce county. There is one school in the town, a consolidated K-12 school within the Genesee School District.
Its first post office opened in 1878. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 955 to 1,030 (+8%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Genesee, 1878 to 1941
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Genesee post office opened in 1878, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Genesee rank for history?
Genesee is more historic than 79% of U.S. towns. 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 Genesee?
Three places: the Genesee Exchange Bank (listed 1979), the Vollmer Building (1979) and the Nordby Farmstead (2009).
How old are the homes in Genesee?
28% of Genesee’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.2 points), against a typical 8.5% for an Idaho 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 (1), the Library of Congress (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (3), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
1941
1941
1941
1941
