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City of Geneseo, Illinois, downton circa 2015Photo: Qgdftxum · CC BY-SA 4.0
–Not graded
History · Geneseo Township

Geneseo Township dates to 1836, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

2 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 8 old photos and papers from 1880 on and old-book passages.

1836founded
2on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
8old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Geneseo Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Geneseo Township began

When was Geneseo Township founded?

1836

Geneseo Township dates its founding to 1836 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). Its post office opened in 1840.

2020 census: 7,567190 years
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1840.The full story ↓

What stands out about Geneseo Township’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.Deep rootsEstablished in 1836: 190 years of Geneseo Township.
★ What stands out · Then & now

The same spot, 93 years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

SOUTH SIDE SCHOOLSouth Side School19202013
South Side SchoolMatched from the two captions
Timeline

Geneseo Township, 1836 to 1920

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1836
    FoundingGeneseo Township is established
  3. 1880In the archiveHome with a white picket fence and summer house, Geneseo
  4. 1890In the archiveGeneseo, Illinois downtown elephants, 1890
  5. 20th century
  6. 1900In the archiveThe Old North Side School, Geneseo, Illinois, 1900
  7. 1910In the archiveFirst Congregationalist Church in
  8. 1920In the archiveSouth Side School
The story

How Geneseo Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Geneseo Township.

Read it all →

Geneseo was founded as a Christian colony in 1836 by seven families of the Congregationalist denomination from Geneseo, New York and Bergen, New York seeking to establish a "church in the wilderness". Roderick R. Stewart, one of the city's founding members, named the town Geneseo after the settlers' town of origin in New York. The name "Geneseo" is a variation of the Iroquois word Genesee, meaning "shining valley" or "beautiful valley".

ChaptersEstablishmentExpansion20th century school expansion

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

From the old history books

What they wrote about Geneseo Township in 1885

Passages that mention Geneseo Township, cut from the printed page as they were published.

On coming to Henry County he at first rented land in Geneseo Township, and passed three years operating in that method. He went thence to the township of Yorktown, where he passed three years.
Portrait and biographical album of Henry County, Illinois1885 · page 399Read the page →
Read the text

On coming to Henry County he at first rented land in Geneseo Township, and passed three years operating in that method. He went thence to the township of Yorktown, where he passed three years.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
ohn H. Smith, a substantial citizen of Geneseo Township, is one of the foremost of the self-made men of Henry County. He is a pioneer of the township of Edford of 185 1, and was a resident of that section of the county until 1864, when he came to the place where he has since resided.
Portrait and biographical album of Henry County, Illinois1885 · page 534Read the page →
Read the text

ohn H. Smith, a substantial citizen of Geneseo Township, is one of the foremost of the self-made men of Henry County. He is a pioneer of the township of Edford of 185 1, and was a resident of that section of the county until 1864, when he came to the place where he has since resided.

Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.

Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

By decade

Geneseo Township, decade by decade

5 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1920s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1890s5 items
Home with a white picket fence and summer house, Geneseoc. 1880Home with a white picket fence and summer house, Gene…Home with a white picket fence and summer house, Geneseoc. 1880Home with a white picket fence and summer house, Gene…Geneseo, Illinois downtown elephants, 18901890Geneseo, Illinois downtown elephants, 1890Geneseo Collegiate Institute circa 18951895Geneseo Collegiate Institute circa 1895WC Sheppard Mansion 1895 in1895WC Sheppard Mansion 1895 in
1900s–1920s3 items
The Old North Side School, Geneseo, Illinois, 19001900The Old North Side School, Geneseo, Illinois, 1900First Congregationalist Church in1910First Congregationalist Church inSouth Side School1920South Side School
1930s–1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today10 recent
A whimsical Halloween street display in downtown Genseo, Illinois2019A whimsical Halloween street display in downtown Gens…Gilded gazebo in a park in Genseo, Illinois2019Gilded gazebo in a park in Genseo, IllinoisMonument2019MonumentCity of Geneseo, Illinois, downton circa 20152015City of Geneseo, Illinois, downton circa 2015Geneseo, Illinois City Park, 20142014Geneseo, Illinois City Park, 2014SOUTH SIDE SCHOOL2013SOUTH SIDE SCHOOLGeneseo, Illinois Green Machine Football 20112011Geneseo, Illinois Green Machine Football 2011Atkinson Hall2011Atkinson HallAtkinson Hall 22011Atkinson Hall 2ILMap-doton-Geneseo2006ILMap-doton-Geneseo
On the National Register

2 historic places in Geneseo Township

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
2
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Places that used to be

Places now gone and burying grounds

Gone or out of use
Andrews SchoolschoolBluff Road SchoolschoolDewey E Greene AirportairportGilbert SchoolschoolJackson Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Geneseo Township
Mizpah

Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Help out

Finish Geneseo Township’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewHome with a white picket fence and summ…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Phenix TownshipIts storyCAtkinson TownshipIts storyB−Edford TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townMunson TownshipIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its town

Questions about Geneseo Township’s history

What year was Geneseo Township founded?

In 1836, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Geneseo Township’s post office opened in 1840.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (15), the Library of Congress (3), Wikipedia, the USGS Geographic Names Information System and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.