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A−History
History · Geneva Township

Geneva Township dates to 1835, and 10 of its places are on the National Register

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns · #149 of 768 in Illinois. What drives it

Most of Geneva Township was built recently: 9% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1988. Below: 30 old photos and papers, maps from 1932 on, and the census since 1860.

1835founded
10on the National Register
9%homes built before 1940
30old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Geneva Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Geneva Township began

When was Geneva Township founded?

1835

Geneva Township dates its founding to 1835 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1860.

First census: 997 in 18602020 census: 26,396191 years

How historic is Geneva Township?

A−

More historic than 84% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1850.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Geneva Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Geneva Township is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #149 of 768 in Illinois. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Geneva Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1835, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 19408.6% of homes (±2.1) · typical IL town 10.6% · U.S. 8.4%C+National Register10 listings, 437 historic buildings, 166 per 10,000 residents · typical IL town 0.5 · U.S. 2.4A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 84%
NewerOlder
Illinois towns of 2,500+ (768)Ahead of 81%

Few Illinois towns list much on the Register (a typical Illinois town has 0.5 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Geneva Township’s 166 sits above most of its state (96% of Illinois towns have fewer) while its 437 historic buildings outnumber those of 97% 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 (±2.1 points) is firm at this size. Two sources give 1835.

Founding year: Wikidata (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 Township’s past

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

A town in postcards30 old photos, postcards and papers, 1869–1933.Landmarks on the Register10 places on the National Register.Deep rootsEstablished in 1835: 191 years of Geneva Township.
★ What stands out · By decade

Geneva Township, decade by decade

6 decades in the archive, from the 1860s to the 1930s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1860s–1880s5 items
Bird's eye view of Geneva, Kane County, Illinois 18691869Bird's eye view of Geneva, Kane County, Illinois 18691940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Kane County - Geneva - ED 45-93, ED 45-94, ED 45-95, ED 45-96, ED 45…18801940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Ka…1950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois (IL) - Kane County - Geneva - ED 45-160 to 16518801950 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois (IL)…Fox River near Geneva, Ill1880Fox River near Geneva, IllFrom railway bridge1880From railway bridge
1890s–1910s7 items
Fox River, below Geneva, Ill1898Fox River, below Geneva, IllGeneva, Ill. from above railway bridge1898Geneva, Ill. from above railway bridgeHenry Bond Faro 19131913Henry Bond Faro 1913Fabyan-postcard-5a1915Fabyan-postcard-5aPostcardCity Hall (NBY 3034)1916City Hall (NBY 3034)PostcardFox River showing City Park (NBY 5188)1916Fox River showing City Park (NBY 5188)PostcardState Street East from Third Street (NBY 6037)1916State Street East from Third Street (NBY 6037)Postcard
1920s–1930s18 items
Fabyan-postcard-medc. 1925Fabyan-postcard-medPostcardHABS ILL,45-GEVA.V,1- (sheet 0 of 3) - Bristol Farmhouse, River Road1933HABS ILL,45-GEVA.V,1- (sheet 0 of 3) - Bristol Farmho…HABS ILL,45-GEVA.V,1- (sheet 0 of 3) - Bristol Farmhouse, River Road1933HABS ILL,45-GEVA.V,1- (sheet 0 of 3) - Bristol Farmho…HABS ILL,45-GEVA.V,1- (sheet 1 of 3) - Bristol Farmhouse, River Road1933HABS ILL,45-GEVA.V,1- (sheet 1 of 3) - Bristol Farmho…HABS ILL,45-GEVA.V,1- (sheet 1 of 3) - Bristol Farmhouse, River Road1933HABS ILL,45-GEVA.V,1- (sheet 1 of 3) - Bristol Farmho…HABS ILL,45-GEVA.V,1- (sheet 2 of 3) - Bristol Farmhouse, River Road1933HABS ILL,45-GEVA.V,1- (sheet 2 of 3) - Bristol Farmho…HABS ILL,45-GEVA.V,1- (sheet 2 of 3) - Bristol Farmhouse, River Road1933HABS ILL,45-GEVA.V,1- (sheet 2 of 3) - Bristol Farmho…HABS ILL,45-GEVA.V,1- (sheet 3 of 3) - Bristol Farmhouse, River Road1933HABS ILL,45-GEVA.V,1- (sheet 3 of 3) - Bristol Farmho…HABS ILL,45-GEVA.V,1- (sheet 3 of 3) - Bristol Farmhouse, River Road1933HABS ILL,45-GEVA.V,1- (sheet 3 of 3) - Bristol Farmho…HABS ILL,45-GEVA,1- (sheet 0 of 3) - Captain Wells House, South Third Street1933HABS ILL,45-GEVA,1- (sheet 0 of 3) - Captain Wells Ho…HABS ILL,45-GEVA,1- (sheet 0 of 3) - Captain Wells House, South Third Street1933HABS ILL,45-GEVA,1- (sheet 0 of 3) - Captain Wells Ho…HABS ILL,45-GEVA,1- (sheet 1 of 3) - Captain Wells House, South Third Street1933HABS ILL,45-GEVA,1- (sheet 1 of 3) - Captain Wells Ho…HABS ILL,45-GEVA,1- (sheet 1 of 3) - Captain Wells House, South Third Street1933HABS ILL,45-GEVA,1- (sheet 1 of 3) - Captain Wells Ho…HABS ILL,45-GEVA,1- (sheet 2 of 3) - Captain Wells House, South Third Street1933HABS ILL,45-GEVA,1- (sheet 2 of 3) - Captain Wells Ho…HABS ILL,45-GEVA,1- (sheet 2 of 3) - Captain Wells House, South Third Street1933HABS ILL,45-GEVA,1- (sheet 2 of 3) - Captain Wells Ho…HABS ILL,45-GEVA,1- (sheet 3 of 3) - Captain Wells House, South Third Street1933HABS ILL,45-GEVA,1- (sheet 3 of 3) - Captain Wells Ho…HABS ILL,45-GEVA,1- (sheet 3 of 3) - Captain Wells House, South Third Street1933HABS ILL,45-GEVA,1- (sheet 3 of 3) - Captain Wells Ho…HABS ILL,45-GEVA,2- (sheet 0 of 1) - Old Unitarian Church, Second and James Streets1933HABS ILL,45-GEVA,2- (sheet 0 of 1) - Old Unitarian Ch…
1940s–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
On the National Register

10 listings protect 437 historic buildings

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

places listed
10
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
437
each building in a district counts

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

Timeline

Geneva Township, 1835 to 1933

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1835
    FoundingGeneva Township is established
  3. 1869In the archiveBird's eye view of Geneva, Kane County, Illinois 1869
  4. 1880In the archive1940 Census Enumeration District Maps - Illinois - Kane County - Geneva - ED 45-93, ED 45…
  5. 1898In the archiveFox River, below Geneva, Ill
  6. 20th century
  7. 1913In the archiveHenry Bond Faro 1913
  8. 1925In the archiveFabyan-postcard-med
  9. 1932On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  10. 1933In the archiveHABS ILL,45-GEVA.V,1- (sheet 0 of 3) - Bristol Farmhouse, River Road
The story

How Geneva Township came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Geneva Township.

Read it all →

Two Native American trails crossed through Geneva. The Potawatomi people lived in the Geneva area, with their main chief, Waubonsee, leading a group that gathered just north of Aurora.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

On the map

Geneva Township on the map, 1932 to 1993

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Geneva Township. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Geneva Township on the 1932 USGS mapGeneva Township on the 1949 USGS mapGeneva Township on the 1964 USGS mapGeneva Township on the 1972 USGS mapGeneva Township on the 1980 USGS mapGeneva Township on the 1993 USGS map1932Geneva sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Geneva Township.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Bird's eye view of Geneva, Kane County, Illinois 1869
Retake this viewBird's eye view of Geneva, Kane County, Illinois 1869, 1869

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Geneva Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
People over time

Geneva Township, census by census

05,00010,00015,00020,000190019502000Peak: 21,495

Between 997 and 21,495 people in every census since 1860.

16 censuses, 1860–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Geneva Township’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Old hamlets and crossroads still carry their names on the map.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Spring GreenWenmoth Acres
Gone or out of use
Peck Schoolschool
1cemetery inside Geneva Township
Resurrection Catholic

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

Help out

Finish Geneva 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 viewBird's eye view of Geneva, Kane County,…: 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.

St. Charles Township10 historic placesB+Geneva8 historic placesASt. Charles8 historic placesB+Batavia Township7 historic placesA−Blackberry Township3 historic placesBBatavia9 historic placesA−West Chicago2 historic placesB−

Questions about Geneva Township’s history

What year was Geneva Township founded?

In 1835, according to Wikidata. Geneva Township’s post office opened in 1850, and the census of 1860 counted 997 people here.

How does Geneva Township rank for history?

Geneva Township is more historic than 84% of U.S. towns, #149 of 768 in Illinois. 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.

How old are the homes in Geneva Township?

9% of Geneva Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±2.1 points), against a typical 11% for an Illinois town; the median home was built in 1988.

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).

From Wikimedia Commons (26), the Library of Congress (4), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) 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.