The story
Read it all →How Geneva came to be
From Wikipedia’s history of Geneva.
Geneva was founded in 1871. It was named after Geneva, in Switzerland, perhaps via Geneva, New York.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
B+History
History · Geneva
Geneva dates to 1871, and 18% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 68% of U.S. towns. What drives it
8 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1892 on, and the census since 1880.
1871founded
8on the National Register
18%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
4famous people
Quick answers
How Geneva began, and where its name came from
When was Geneva founded?
1871
Geneva dates its founding to 1871 (Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history agree). The census first counted it in 1880.
First census: 376 in 18802020 census: 2,136155 years
How did Geneva get its name?
Geneva was named after Geneva, in Switzerland, perhaps via Geneva, New York.
How historic is Geneva?
B+
What drives the grade ↓More historic than 68% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: Wikidata; Wikipedia’s history section gives the same year. First post office: 1871. Name: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.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 68% of U.S. towns. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Geneva’s overall grade.
Founding era1871, from Wikidata: founded 1850–1899, an older era than 37% of U.S. townsC+Homes built before 194018.3% of homes (±4.5) · typical NE town 17.8% · U.S. 8.4%B+National Register8 listings, 11 historic buildings, 50.2 per 10,000 residents · typical NE town 16.3 · U.S. 2.4A−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 68%
NewerOlder
Nebraska towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Nebraska town has 16.3 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Geneva’s 50.2 sits above most of its state (81% of Nebraska towns have fewer) while its 11 historic buildings outnumber those of 76% 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 (±4.5 points). Two sources give 1871.
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’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
★ What stands out · Help out
Start Geneva’s collection
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Geneva’s history is told.
Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.On the map
Geneva on the map, 1898 to 1985
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Geneva. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1898York sheet · 1:125,000U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Geneva.
On the National Register
8 historic places in Geneva
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
places listed
8
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
11
each building in a district counts
first listed
1978
Fillmore County Courthouse
Buildings
Architectural styles listings
Queen Anne2
Richardsonian Romanesque1
Eastlake1
Two-part Commercial Block1
Colonial Revival1
Late Victorian1
Fillmore County CourthouseRichardsonian Romanesque
George W. Smith HouseQueen Anne · Built 1890
Auditorium, TheTwo-part Commercial Block · Built 1915
US Post Office-GenevaColonial Revival
J. M. Burk HouseLate Victorian
Dempster-Sloan HouseBuilt 1887
Warner's Filling Station and HouseFilling Station
All 8 listings
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Timeline
Geneva, 1871 to 1973
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
- 19th century
- 1871FoundingGeneva is established
- 1871Post officeThe Fillmore post office opens
- 1873Post officeThe Geneva post office opens
- 1875
Born hereKate Barnard is born here - 1879Post officeThe Fillmore post office closes
- 1887BuiltDempster-Sloan House is built
- 1890BuiltGeorge W. Smith House is built
- 1898
On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey - 20th century
- 1915BuiltAuditorium, The is built
- 1935Born hereJohn E. Nelson is born here
- 1937Born hereRobert B. Wilson is born here
- 1968Born hereTerry Murrell is born here
- 1973
In the archiveAT THE "PASTIME BAR" IN
By decade
Geneva, decade by decade
One decade in the archive so far: the 1970s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.
1970s1 item
1980s–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 albumDate unknown1 to date
![[Youngers & Company materials] [electronic resource]](https://images.townratings.com/story/10802/6a99bc4cc5657ea32e8e-s.jpg)
Date?Today2 recent
2009
2005Every building
Geneva, building by building, 1892–1897
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.
1892Sheet 1 of 2Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
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.
Retake this viewAT THE "PASTIME BAR" IN, 1973
Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Geneva’s page.
Retake this view · +15People over time
Geneva, census by census
Between 376 and 2,400 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Geneva’s Wikipedia page.
Famous people
See all →4 famous people were born in Geneva
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Places that used to be
Lost post offices and burying grounds
Geneva’s post office has been open since 1873. Another post office, Fillmore, opened and closed inside today’s town.
Fillmore
Geneva
18701950today
1cemetery inside Geneva
Geneva
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Geneva’s history
What year was Geneva founded?
In 1871, according to Wikidata and Wikipedia’s history of the town. Geneva’s post office opened in 1871, and the census of 1880 counted 376 people here.
How does Geneva rank for history?
Geneva is more historic than 68% 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 Geneva?
8 listings: 8 buildings, among them the Fillmore County Courthouse (listed 1978, the first). 11 historic buildings in all.
How old are the homes in Geneva?
18% of Geneva’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±4.5 points), against a typical 18% for a Nebraska town; the median home was built in 1968.
Memory lane
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
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 (4), Wikidata (6), the National Register of Historic Places (8), 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.