Map of Geneva city, Illinois

Geneva is a city in and the county seat of Kane County, Illinois, United States. It is located on the western side of the Chicago suburbs. Per the 2020 census, the population was 21,393.

Geneva is part of a tri-city area, located between St. Charles and Batavia. The area experienced rapid population growth from the late 1980s through the mid-2000s as the Chicago suburbs spread to the west.

Geneva is a popular tourist destination with its scenic location along the Fox River and numerous shops and restaurants. 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 as the Fabyan Windmill, an old Dutch windmill dating back to the 1850s. In 2013 it was nominated by Bloomberg Businessweek as the best place to raise a kid in Illinois.

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History

Geneva was first settled in the 1830s on an important route from Chicago. Daniel Shaw Haight was the first European settler in Geneva. Haight sold his claim in 1835 to James and Charity Herrington, who were influential in the creation of the town of Geneva. A local’s connections with Col. Richard Hamilton, a prominent Cook County politician, led to the naming of Geneva as county seat in 1836. The town was platted a year later and was probably named after Geneva, New York. Before the name Geneva was chosen, the names LaFox, Big Spring, and Herrington’s Ford were used. A courthouse and jail were among the first major works. Geneva was incorporated as a village in 1867. While its site as a county seat attracted attention, the village’s location on the Fox River provided the most economic opportunities. Early goods manufactured in Geneva included cheese, butter, milled grains, and packed meat. The connection of the railroad in 1853 provided increased demand for industry, and by 1900, Appleton Manufacturing, Howell Foundry, Bennet Milling Co., and Pope Glucose Co. became major employers. This resulted in major civic improvement projects such as a pumping stations and water mains in 1896. Geneva was particularly noted for its flux of Swedish immigrants, who comprised half of the population by 1900. A year later, Geneva was connected to other Fox Valley communities through the Aurora, Elgin and Fox River Electric Company.

Historical sites

The Fabyan Windmill is an authentic, working Dutch windmill dating from the 1850s located in Geneva, just north of Batavia, off Route 25. The five-story wooden smock mill with a stage, which stands 68 feet (21 m) tall, sits upon the onetime estate of Colonel George Fabyan, but is now part of the Kane County Forest Preserve District.

On June 4, 1979, the windmill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the Dutch Mill. The following year, the windmill was selected to be on a U.S. postage stamp, as part of a series of five windmills in a stamp booklet called “Windmills USA.” It originally operated as a custom grinding mill.

Riverbank Acoustical Laboratories is a NVLAP accredited acoustical testing agency founded by Wallace Clement Sabine in 1918. The acoustical laboratory building was funded and built by Colonel George Fabyan on his vast Riverbank Estate in Geneva, IL. In the facility’s early days, It also housed a cryptology team that worked to decipher codes from the works of Sir Francis Bacon, Shakespeare, and enemy military communications. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on November 28, 2003.

The Fabyan Villa Museum houses photographs, the Fabyans’ personal artifact collections, and a limited number of original furnishings, sharing the Riverbank story with the public.

The Sacred Heart Seminary Shrine is a stone and mosaic religious Chapel located in Geneva. It sits next to the Kane County Government Center in the Gunnar Anderson Forest Preserve along the Fox River, near the old Sacred Heart Monastery. The shrine dates back to 1925 when a piece of the land along the river was sold to the Society of Jesus. The shrine is also known as the Geneva Grotto.

The beautiful mosaics on the sides of the shrine hold Latin writing saying Ignem veni mittere, which translates to “I have come to bring fire” as well as Ego sum lux mundi, meaning “I am the light of the world.” The mosaics also house art work of three arches that depict heaven and earth, a crucifix crossed by two swords, as well as a lighthouse. The Latin phrases are references to the New Testament. Jesus uses the phrases to describe himself; as in embodying both beginning and end. The altar is inscribed with the letters “IHS,” referencing the first three letters of Jesus in Greek.

The shrine has frequently been the victim of vandal, who have damaged part of the stone structure. On October 21, 2014, vandals threw white paint all over the stone walls and mosaics. They then proceeded to use spray paint to create symbols on the walls. Part of the stone structure was also damaged, leaving broken pieces of stone on the ground.

Elizabeth Place, or the Henry Bond Fargo House, is a historic residence in Geneva, in the Mission Revival style. The house was owned by Henry Bond Fargo, a prominent local businessmen who brought several early industries to Geneva. It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on May 12, 2008.

Geneva Road Map

Geneva city Satellite Map

Geography

Geneva is located at 41°53’9″ North, 88°18’42” West (41.885722, −88.311771), 36 miles (58 km) west of downtown Chicago.

According to the 2010 census, Geneva has a total area of 9.994 square miles (25.88 km), of which 9.75 square miles (25.25 km) (or 97.56%) is land and 0.244 square miles (0.63 km) (or 2.44%) is water.

See also