Geneva is a suburb of Chicago located in extreme eastern Kane County, Illinois. As
of the 2000 census, the city had a total population of 19,515. It is the county seat of Kane County1. Geneva is a popular tourist destination with its scenic location along the Fox River and numerous shops and restaurants. Geneva has a station on the Union Pacific/West line of the Metra commuter rail system which provides frequent service to downtown Chicago, 36 miles (58 km) away. There is an extensive bike trail system in Geneva including portions of the Fox River Trail and the Illinois Prairie Path. Geneva has an active historical society, the Geneva History Center, located in downtown Geneva as well the Fabyan Windmill, an old Dutch windmill dating back to the 1850s. Geneva is part of a tri-city area, along with St. Charles and Batavia. The area is currently experiencing a high level of population growth as Chicago's urban sprawl spreads farther west. Once considered one of Chicago's farthest west suburbs, Geneva is now becoming less so as farther west suburban locales such as La Fox and Elburn quickly develop.
Geneva, Illinois, located in Kane County, is a city of 19,000 located 40 miles west of Chicago. Geneva is situated in the Fox River valley. Native Americans populated the valley for over 9,000 years prior to the coming of the white man. The Illinois and Prairie Pottawatomi tribes inhabited the Geneva area during the 17th, 18th and early 19th Centuries.
White settlers first entered the area around 1830. Daniel Shaw Haight, of Dutch origin, was the first settler in Geneva. He built a cabin near a spring by the Fox River in 1833, and the settlement was called Big Spring. Haight sold his claim in 1835 to James and Charity Herrington and moved his family further north.
James and Charity Herrington were influential in the creation of the town of Geneva. The Herrington homestead served as the center of Geneva for many of the early years. Early names for the town were Herrington’s Ford and La Fox. James and Charity’s ninth child, Margaret, is considered to be the first child born in Geneva.
Geneva was selected as the new county seat in 1836. The name that was originally selected for the town was "Campbell Ford," after two of the County Commissioners, James Campbell and Thomas Ford. The name "Geneva" was instead adopted, most likely at the suggestion of Dr. Charles Volney Dyer of Chicago, who was a noted abolitionist who had recently come from upstate New York, and was a friend of both Hamilton and Ford. Geneva was an upper New York State name.
James Herrington died in 1839. Before his untimely death at age 41, he had platted the town, helped establish the county seat and was elected sheriff, and opened the first general store, tavern and post office called "LaFox."
By late 1836, a group of settlers from Massachusetts arrived in Geneva. Known as "the Boston Colony," they included some of the most influential of Geneva’s early citizens. This group was influential in organizing the Unitarian Church, currently the oldest church in Geneva, built in 1843, and reportedly the oldest Unitarian church west of New York State.
By 1840, Geneva had a courthouse and jail, a post office, a classroom and teacher, a bridge, a sawmill, at least three general stores, a doctor, a furniture and coffin maker, at least two blacksmiths, two hotels and a tavern. There were log cabins and some modest frame and stone houses.
Between 1840 and the Civil War, most of the local economy lied with the mills. Geneva’s industry served agriculture, and local factories produced packed meat, butter, cheese, milled grains, and later glucose and flax.
One important development was the coming of the railroad in 1853. This put Geneva on a main passenger line, as well as providing freight lines. The railroad established a relationship between Geneva and Chicago. Well-to-do city people "discovered" Geneva as an idyllic place for outings and, eventually, for second or country homes. Many people in Geneva today commute to Chicago daily on the train.
Eben Danford, from Massachusetts, was a machinist and inventor. In 1850 he invented and patented the Danford Reaper and Mower. He often received top awards for his invention over rival Cyrus McCormick, famous for his McCormick Reaper in Chicago. At the peak of operation in the 1850s Danford made between 400 and 600 reapers and harvesters each year and employed 50 to 100 men. The Danford Reaper and Mower Works closed in 1862 due mainly to the aggressive and wealthy competitor Cyrus McCormick, which later became International Harvester.
The first town elections took place in 1848. The first sheriff, Bartholomew Yates, hired Allan Pinkerton as his deputy. Pinkerton went on to found a famous detective agency in Chicago.
Geneva’s first free public school was built and opened in 1855. By the mid-1850s, churches were built by the Methodists, the Congregationalists, the Swedish Lutherans, and the Disciples of Christ. The Unitarian church of 1843, the Congregational church of 1856, and the Disciples of Christ meetinghouse of 1857 still stand.
Geneva was officially incorporated as a village in 1858. The village had many worthy attorneys, due mainly to Geneva being the county seat. One was Augustus Herrington, James and Charity Herrington’s oldest son. He became U.S. District Attorney for Northern Illinois in 1857 and was later a solicitor for the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad.
A Rand McNally travel booklet titled, "Summer Resorts of the Northwest" from 1879 states this about Geneva:
Many professional men who really belong to Chicago have their homes in Geneva, and the society is, therefore, very agreeable. It is a quiet, restful place, where there is a perpetual air of a New England Sunday afternoon. On warm summer days the shaded streets are cool and quiet; nothing is astir for hours except on one or two of the business corners and about the courthouse. There is a sort of natural atmosphere of dolce far niente about the whole place, which is extremely grateful to people who have been working or pleasure seeking on the high pressure plan for seven of eight months of city life. Toward evening everything is gay and active, however, and the scene on the arrival of the evening train is quite like that at many Eastern resorts. There are many pleasant places where board can be obtained
