Geneva

Geneva, New York
—  City  —
Geneva, New York Location within the state of New York
Coordinates: 42°52′44″N 76°59′35″W / 42.87889°N 76.99306°W / 42.87889; -76.99306
Country	United States
State	New York
County	Ontario, Seneca
Government
- Mayor	Stuart Einstein (D)
- City Manager	Mathew D. Horn
Population (2000)
- Total	13,617
- Density	3,199.5/sq mi (1,234.2/km2)
ZIP code	14456
Area code(s)	315
FIPS code	36-28651
GNIS feature ID	0978993
Website	http://www.geneva.ny.us

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.".^[1]

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.^[2]

Seneca Street, Geneva	Pulteney Park, Geneva	South Main Street, Geneva	Lakefront from long pier
View of Seneca Lake from Geneva	Belhurst Castle in Geneva	Geneva on the Lake	View of Seneca Lake from S. Main Street

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.^[3] The principal is Nina McCarthy.^[4][5] The current principal is Joseph Demeis.^[6][7] The current principal is Carmine Calabria.^[8][9] The current principal is Bill Rotenberg.^[10]

Private schools

• Moodie's Children's Hours School ^[11] is a private school that teaches grades PreK-1st in Geneva. Its enrollment is about 27 students.^[12] The current director is Mary Bohle.^[13]

• St. Francis-St. Stephen's School is a Roman Catholic elementary school that teaches grades PreK-8 in Geneva. The current principal is Elaine Morrow.^[14]

• DeSales High School is a Roman Catholic high school that teaches Grades 9-12 in Geneva.^[15][16]

Colleges and universities

• Hobart and William Smith Colleges, the successor institution to Geneva College.
• The New York State Agricultural Experiment Station of Cornell University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.
• Finger Lakes Community College has a campus in Geneva.

Demographics

As of the census^[17] 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.^[18]
• Debito Arudou/Dave Aldwinckle, English teacher, author and activist in Japan.^[19]
• Arthur Dove, artist.^[20]
• Charles J. Folger, Distinguished lawyer, jurist and statesman.^[21]
• David Hudson, Lawyer, writer and statesman.^[22]
• Christine Lavin folk singer.^[23]
• Gym Class Heroes music group^[24]
• Thomas Hillhouse, Farmer, banker and statesman.^[25]
• Michael Muhammad Knight, author. ^[26]
• Lauren Holly, Actress ^[27]
• Mark Hannan, Professional Sports Agent, CEO All Out, Incorporated. ^[28]
• Eliakim Sherrill, Politician, brigade commander in the Union Army during the American Civil War.^[29]
• William W. Wright, Politician.^[30]

References

New York portal

External links

• City's website
• Chamber of Commerce website
• School District website
• Early history of Geneva area

• Geneva, New York is at coordinates 42°52′00″N 76°59′14″W / 42.866667°N 76.987222°W / 42.866667; -76.987222 (Geneva, New York)Coordinates: 42°52′00″N 76°59′14″W / 42.866667°N 76.987222°W / 42.866667; -76.987222 (Geneva, New York)

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Ontario County, New York County seat: Canandaigua Cities Canandaigua | Geneva‡ Towns Bristol | Canadice | Canandaigua | East Bloomfield | Farmington | Geneva | Gorham | Hopewell | Manchester | Naples | Phelps | Richmond | Seneca | South Bristol | Victor | West Bloomfield Villages Bloomfield | Clifton Springs | Manchester | Naples | Phelps | Rushville‡ | Shortsville | Victor Hamlets Centerfield | Fishers | Hall | Honeoye Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Seneca County, New York County seat: Waterloo City Geneva‡ Towns Covert | Fayette | Junius | Lodi | Ovid | Romulus | Seneca Falls | Tyre | Varick | Waterloo Villages Interlaken | Lodi | Ovid | Seneca Falls | Waterloo Footnotes ‡This populated place also has portions in an adjacent county or counties