Donate
Blog
Shop
Facebook-square Instagram Youtube Search

Category: Organizations

Images of Dixon Homes. The manager discussed with the Council for a Better Geneva about the status of the buildings.

Mayor Rogers’ Council for a Better Geneva, 1955-1957

A citizen’s group working to better conditions for people living in Geneva in the late 1950s.
Read More
Newspaper clipping of Elong Eaton in the words with other bird watchers.

Elon H. Eaton and the Eaton Birding Society

Brief biography of Professor Elon H. Eaton and history the Eaton Birding Society
Read More
Wood with brass plaque for United Church Canvass in 1949

United Church Canvass in Geneva

Local efforts for the United Church Canvass Program during the 1940s.
Read More
Coins in plastic sleeves found in the time capsule

Bicentennial Time Capsule

Opening of a time capsule created in 1976 by a 5th grade class at Prospect Ave School.
Read More
This large multistory brick building with two towers and lawns and trees around it was the Classical and Union School.

Geneva’s Classical and Union School

Brief history of Geneva's Classical and Union School (Geneva High School).
Read More
Photograph of the Geneva Choral Society Festival in 1900,

Geneva Choral Society Music Festival

Brief history of the Geneva Choral Society Music Festival.
Read More

Geneva Music Festival

Brief history of the Geneva Music Festival
Read More
Photo of farmerettes from the Woman’s Land Army posing outside tents in Seneca Castle.

Farmerettes: The Woman’s Land Army

Overview of the Woman’s Land Army during World War I.
Read More
Indoor student rally at Coxe Hall on the campus of Hobart and William Smith Collleges (Geneva, New York) in 1968.

When Hobart Washed the American Flag:HWS in 1968, Part 2

An account of the 1968 election night rally on the campus of Hobart and William Smith Colleges and its aftermath
Read More
Pin with  "Remember Aug. 13" printed on it from an Hobart and William Smith Colleges student protest.

“Remember August 13th:” HWS in 1968

Part of a series chronicling student unrest on the campus of Hobart and William Smith Colleges in 1968 after the resignation of the colleges' president, Albert Holland
Read More
Photo of four members of the Geneva Red Cross Canteen

Serving Troops on Route 

A look back at the Geneva Red Cross Canteen during World War I and II.
Read More
brick church with square tower on north main street

The Ladies Improvement Society of the First Baptist Church

Brief history of the Ladies Improvement Society of the First Baptist Church.
Read More
1855 painting of village square with buildings

Main Street Improvement Association, Part 1

The first in a series about the Main Street Improvement Association.
Read More
Men in uniforms with cannons on Exchange Street

Battery Boys: The Independent Battery

A brief history of the Independent Battery (1879-1923), sponsored by the Grand Army Republic Swift Post No. 94 in Geneva.
Read More
Horse drawn fire wagon in front of a building

“No one hungry in Geneva this winter:” Firemen’s Cafeteria

A recounting of the Firemen’s Cafeteria which operated during the winter of 1932-33 in Geneva.
Read More
View down a street of commercial buildings, many with awnings and 1920s Model Ts parked on the street.

The Geneva Women’s Free Rest Room Association

Brief history of the Geneva Women’s Free Rest Room Association.
Read More
Roman Athenaeum in Bucharest Romania

A National Reading Club Comes to Geneva

A short history of the Bay View Reading Circle in Geneva.
Read More
A diverse class of elementary students weave baskets in school.

The Community Response to the (Geneva) Princeton Plan

The community response to Geneva’s attempts to address racial imbalance in its schools.
Read More
The cafeteria of Prospect Ave School

The (Geneva) Princeton Plan: 56 Years Later

A look back at Geneva’s attempts to address racial imbalance in its schools.
Read More
Miss Goldie Dunn and Miss Louise Hiatt, of the National Council for the Prevention of War, holding isolationist posters.

What Price Peace?

The formation and activities of the Geneva Peace Council during the 1930s. 
Read More
people square dancing and sucking on lemons

Pass the Ocean, Spin the Top: The Friendship Squares of Geneva

A brief look at the Friendship Squares of Geneva.
Read More
man addressing student group in museum gallery

Town and Gown at Historic Geneva, 2023

Overview of our relationship with Hobart and William Smith Colleges.
Read More
Logo for 125th anniversary of the Geneva's city charter

Geneva’s First City Budget

The city's first budget from 1898.
Read More
Geneva High School students staging a protest.

The Rest of the story: 1972 Geneva High School Student Walkout

A continuation of the Finger Lakes Times Looking Back article about the March 1972 Geneva High School (Geneva, New York) student walkout. 
Read More
Logo for 125th anniversary of the Geneva's city charter

Happy Birthday, City of Geneva

To mark the 125th anniversary of the city charter, an overview of how Geneva has changed as a municipality
Read More
Group of men examining slot machines.

Got A Nickel?

Brief history of slot machines in Geneva.
Read More
paddling of Hobart freshman by upper classmen

The Rite of Passage for Hobart Freshmen in the 20th Century

Overview of the social rules followed by Hobart College freshmen during the 20th century
Read More
newspaper image of a man sitting down at a desk

The Spanish Association of the Finger Lakes

Brief history of Spanish Association of the Finger Lakes in Geneva, New York.
Read More
Cluttered College Student Room In Late 1800s

Off to College, Then and Now

A comparison of the admission process at Hobart College in 1839-1839 and 1911-1912
Read More
Brightly colored room with books shelves, tables and chairs.

Lifelong Learning

Overview of lifelong learning opportunities from around the community.
Read More
Teenager Speaking By Computer Monitor

Vocational Education Through the Years

A brief overview of vocational education.
Read More
Hand Putting Paper In Ballot Box.

The Ballot Box in New York State

Brief timeline of voting history in New York State
Read More
A man and four women surrounded by baskets of food collected and organized by the Salvation Army

Salvation Army

Chronicle of the Salvation Army’s presence in Geneva.
Read More
women with banners and a fire in a urn stand outside the White House

When You Can’t Find The Words

The Historical Society addresses the protests occurring across the country.
Read More
26 students standing by a blackboard or sitting in old-fashioned desks in rows with a teacher looking on.

Geneva School Expansion and Reform

A review of the period of school expansion and reform in Geneva during the late 1800s.
Read More
Three men and a woman watch a man dig with a shovel just outside a building.

Geneva’s Stories: Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church Serves the Community

Mount Olive Missionary Baptist Church celebrates 70 years of making a difference in Geneva.
Read More
men-standing-in-an-orchard-with-boxes-of-apples

Geneva’s Stories: Geneva Rotary Club Celebrates 100 Years of Service

From student loans to summer camps to a local grant program, the Geneva Rotary Club has spent the past century serving the community.
Read More

Early History of the Geneva Family YMCA

The beginning of the Geneva Family YMCA
Read More

When You’re Shut Out of a Club…Start Your Own

A brief history of the College Club of Geneva.
Read More

William Smith College Athletics, 1972 – Present

Part two of a brief history of William Smith College athletics
Read More

William Smith College Athletics, 1908-1971

Brief history of William Smith College athletics.
Read More
women-running-in-race-wearing-bibs

Women’s Sports

Discussion on the impact of Title IX on young women and sports .
Read More
List of classes for logic, moral, and intellectual philosophy in 1853

From Zoology to Metaphysics: College Courses in 19th and 20th Centuries

Overview of courses offered schools and colleges in Geneva during the 1800s and 1900s.
Read More

Gossip is Not a 21st Century Thing

Overview of publications from Geneva High School
Read More
handwritten-notes-headed-the-mental-faculties

What We Learned In School: 19th-Century Schoolwork

What was 19th-century schoolwork like?
Read More

Alice Seward and World War I, Part One

Part one is a series about the World War I diary of Alice Seward
Read More

Back to School

Overview of school buildings using photos and floor plans from "Report of [New York] State Superintendent of Public Instruction" (1897) including Cortland Street and Lewis Street Schools in Geneva, New York.
Read More

“The War Chest spilled over. Good for Geneva!”

The creation of the Geneva War Chest during WW I
Read More
1858-painting-of-the-wyoming-massacre

The Wyoming Valley Massacre

How the 18th-century frontier raids by Native American warriors and British loyalists led to General Sullivan's campaign to destroy the Iroquois.
Read More
1967-students-protest-with-signs

1968: A Year of Change

1968, the year the Geneva Historical Society opened Rose Hill Mansion as a museum, was a year of momentous change.
Read More

Andrew Hubbs, American Red Ambulance Corps

World War I experience of Andrew Hubbs
Read More

Geneva’s Gallant Sons

The Curator's latest find "Register of Geneva's Gallant Sons War of 1917-1919."
Read More
exterior-of-the-high-street-school-c1880

Segregated Schools in Geneva’s Past

Many Americans are familiar with the segregated schools of the Jim Crow South, however, officially segregated schools existed in most 19th-century communities in the North, including Geneva. It took the concerted efforts of Geneva's African-American community to advocate for improved education and eventual integrated schools for their children.
Read More
five-panels-and-letters-MLK-on-a-wall

Curriculum Project Results in Student Mural

Geneva Middle School students create a mural recounting Geneva High School boycotts of the 1970s.
Read More

Imagine if you were in her shoes….

Evolution of women’s rights in the United States
Read More

1907 and the New York Woman Suffrage Association Meeting

Brief summary of the 1907 New York Woman Suffrage Association Annual Convention held in Geneva, New York.
Read More

“Marching on to Victory”: A Timeline of the Suffrage Movement in Geneva

A timeline of the suffrage movement in Geneva, New York.
Read More
A one-room brick schoolhouse with two teachers and a group of children sitting and standing in the yard.

Free Schools for Geneva

Free public schools appeared in Geneva in the mid-19th century.
Read More
drawing-of-the-first-geneva-school-district-building-in-1856

Founding of the Geneva School District

The Geneva City School District can trace its birth to 1839, the year that the village’s Districts No. 1 and No. 19 merged to form the state’s first union school district. By the 1830s, the community had a College, dozens of private schools, and two public schools for the basic instruction of children of all classes. Yet schooling in the antebellum period here and throughout New York was far from satisfactory. The unification of Geneva’s districts was part of a statewide movement in the mid-19th century to improve public schooling.
Read More

Fiery Cross Burns

While looking for information on Rose Hill (called the Boody Farm when Edgar Boody owned it) I found this account. I had heard a little about Klan activity in the 1920s, but had never pursued the subject. Now I wondered about the history of the Klan in Geneva and I started poking around in the local newspapers.
Read More

The 1960s at Hobart & William Smith Colleges

A quick view of Hobart & William Smith Colleges during the tumultuous 1960s.
Read More

Remembering the Days of the Neighborhood School

In 1960 I was 8 years old. Back then everyone attended the neighborhood elementary school, either public or parochial.
Read More

Suffrage Connection

If you did not go to the pre-screening of the movie The Suffragette at the Smith, you missed an incredible experience. Though the movie was about the British suffrage movement, there is a Geneva connection.
Read More

1960s Student Unrest in Geneva

Very early on May 5, 1970, Ontario County Sheriffs arrested five Hobart students in a drug raid. The raid turned up hash pipes, pills and marijuana. One of the sheriffs was recognized by the students as “Tommy the Traveler” – a man who had been active on campus encouraging anti-war and anti-ROTC protests, and claiming to be a member of Students for a Democratic Society.
Read More

Accidental History Topics

I’ve posted photos to the historical society’s Facebook page for two and a half years. Digging further into the collection to come up with fresh material, I found this photo of Castle Street
Read More
schoolhouse-in-the-snow

Early Schools of Geneva

The recent debates over Geneva’s school budget and national arguments about the Common Core curriculum have had me thinking and reading a lot about the history of education this past spring. Education and schooling have been part of life in Geneva from its early settlement, though not in a form most modern Genevans would recognize.
Read More

Piazza Party at Lochland

For over forty years women’s rights and dress reform advocate Elizabeth Smith Miller (1822-1911) called Geneva home. In 1897 Miller got the New York State Suffrage Association to host their annual convention in Geneva. After the convention Miller and her daughter, Anne, formed the Geneva Political Equality Club. The purpose of the club was to secure full suffrage for women.
Read More

Lincoln’s Assassination as Seen in Geneva

One hundred fifty years ago this week actor John Wilkes Booth changed American history when he stepped into the Lincolns' booth at Ford's Theater and shot the president in the back of the head, the first man to assassinate a U.S. president. The assassination was an awful event that shook the nation just a week after Lee’s surrender overjoyed the North.
Read More
view-of-USO-building-in-geneva-in-the-1940s

The Geneva USO and WWII

The Geneva USO Club helped the community do its part during World War II.
Read More
A portrait of a man, woman and child labeled James M. Cole, James M. Cole II and Dorothy H. Cole.

The James M. Cole Circus, Part Two

In November 1943, the Geneva Daily Times reported Cole, Circus Owner, Inducted Into Army
Read More
The title page of Review of a Battalion of Infantry.

The War of 1812: Who Cares?

A discussion on the importance of the War of 1812.
Read More

Clubs, Associations, Organizations: Networking in the 1920s

Brief overview of community organizations in Geneva during the 1920s.
Read More

Garbage

History of dumps in Geneva.
Read More
Chickens outside a henhouse.

Swine Driver and Pound Keeper for Geneva in 1852

Chronicling the problem of loose animals like livestock in Geneva, New York during the 1800s through newspapers and government records.
Read More
Granite monument with the NY seal above a a carving of a man's head and shoulders above the words 126th New York Infantry, 3d Brig, 3d Div, 20 Corps. July 3d, 1863.

126th New York At Gettysburg

The 126th New York Infantry Regiment at the Battle of Gettysburg
Read More

Engines and Silver Trumpets

Fire related issues as chronicled in the Village of Geneva board minutes during the early 1850s.
Read More
An engraving showing men firing down a city street at soldiers with cannons. Several dead and wounded are on the ground and a woman rushes toward one of them.

New York City Draft Riots

Robert Swan's reaction to the draft during the Civil War
Read More
lincoln-seated-with-his-cabinet-after-signing-the-emancipation-proclamation

150th Anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation

A little over one-hundred fifty years ago, on September 22, 1862, President Lincoln took a step he had planned for months and proclaimed that as of January 1, 1863 “all persons held as slaves within any State or designated part of a State, the people whereof shall then be in rebellion against the United States, shall be then, thenceforward, and forever free.…”
Read More