For other places with this name, see Geneva.
Geneva is a
city in
Ontario and
Seneca counties in the
U.S. state of
New York. The population was 13,617 at the 2000 census. Some claim it is named after the city and canton of
Geneva in
Switzerland. Others believe the name came from confusion over the letters in the word "Seneca" written in cursive.
Geneva's Ontario County portion (which is most of the city) is surrounded by the town of
Geneva. The city says it is the "Lake Trout Capital of the World.".
History
The site was originally the
Seneca Native American village of
Kanadasaga. It became a strongpoint after being fortified by the British against the French and later against the Americans. The village was abandoned following its destruction by the punitive
Sullivan Expedition of 1779, but resettled by Europeans around 1793 as a town developed by the
Pulteney Association. The "Village of Geneva" was incorporated in 1806, 1812, and 1871, formally separating it from the surrounding area of Geneva Town. Later the village became a city. Col.
Seth Reed and his family settled in Geneva around 1790 before moving to Erie, Pennsylvania.
Geography
Geneva lies at the northern end of the
Seneca Lake, in the
Finger Lakes region, the largest wine-producing area in New York State. According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 15.2 km² (5.8 mi²). 11.0 km² (4.3 mi²) of it is land and 4.1 km² (1.6 mi²) of it (27.18%) is water.
Geneva on east-west
US Route 20 conjoined with
New York State Route 5.
New York State Route 14 is a north-south highway through the city. The
Cayuga-Seneca Canal linked the area to the
Erie Canal, completed in 1825. It is fairly equidistant from
Rochester, New York and
Syracuse, New York, each being about 45 miles away.
Government
Geneva uses a mayor-council form of government. The mayor is elected at large. The council consists of eight members. Six are elected from one of six wards. The other two are elected at large.
Education
Public schools
The
Geneva City School District operates the local public primary and secondary schools. The district has two elementary schools, North Street School and West Street School. The district's secondary schools are Geneva Middle School and
Geneva High School. The principal is Nina McCarthy. The current principal is Joseph Demeis. The current principal is Carmine Calabria. The current principal is Bill Rotenberg.
Private schools
- Moodie's Children's Hours School is a private school that teaches grades PreK-1st in Geneva. Its enrollment is about 27 students. The current director is Mary Bohle.
Colleges and universities
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 13,617 people, 5,014 households, and 2,933 families residing in the city. The
population density was 1,234.2/km² (3,199.5/mi²). There were 5,564 housing units at an average density of 504.3/km² (1,307.4/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 81.52%
White, 10.22%
African American, 0.25%
Native American, 1.23%
Asian, 0.05%
Pacific Islander, 3.39% from
other races, and 3.34% from two or more races.
Hispanic or
Latino of any race were 8.50% of the population.
There were 5,014 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.6% were
married couples living together, 15.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.5% were non-families. 34.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.35 and the average family size was 3.03.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 18.9% from 18 to 24, 24.3% from 25 to 44, 18.1% from 45 to 64, and 15.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 87.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,600, and the median income for a family was $41,224. Males had a median income of $31,315 versus $23,054 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $15,609. About 13.7% of families and 17.5% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 27.2% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
On January 1, 2008, Stu Einstein took office as the city's new mayor.
Tourism
One of the major industries in and around Geneva is
winemaking. The area is becoming increasingly popular for
agritourism: there are over 100 wineries in the Finger Lakes Region, and the
Seneca Lake wine trail provides easy access to many of these from Geneva. As Geneva grows as a tourist destination so do the number of rooms available.
The
television show
Extreme Makeover: Home Edition featured the Hill Family from Geneva on one of its episodes.
Notable natives and residents
- Elizabeth Blackwell, the first woman to become qualified as a medical doctor in the United States, studied here, graduating from the medical school at what was then Geneva College in 1849.
- Debito Arudou/Dave Aldwinckle, English teacher, author and activist in Japan.
- Eliakim Sherrill, Politician, brigade commander in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
