Genoa was settled by Thomas Madison, a Revolutionary War Soldier, in the year 1836 who named the village after a town in the State of New York. Other early settlers to join him in Genoa that first year were H. N. Perkins, Samuel Corey, Thomas Monahan and Henry Durham, who opened the first store. The first post office was established in 1836 with Thomas Madison as postmaster. Other settlers followed and by the spring of 1838 Genoa was larger than any other community in the county. The year of 1838 saw Genoa have its first school with Mary Ann Hill as teacher and also its first doctor, Dr. H. F. Page. H. N. Perkins came into possession of the original cabin of Thomas Madison, added a second story, and operated a tavern and hotel known as the "Pacific House". This hotel, which was used as a stagecoach stop by travelers on the Chicago-Galena trail in the 1800's, as well as by the local folks for balls and parties, still stands today at 501 West Main Street in downtown Genoa.
Because the first settlers of Genoa found an unbroken wilderness of prairie and some areas of timber, farming and hunting were their first occupations. In the late 1830's small industries were started which would help to make their pioneer living a little easier and more satisfying, including wagon makers, a sawmill, and a flax mill.
In 1850 the Village of Genoa was platted with Henry Durham acting as its first supervisor. It did not grow much until the building of the railroad in 1876. At that time there was one hotel, a general store, a grocery store, a post office, two blacksmith shops, a shoe shop and about twenty dwelling houses within the village limits. By the spring of 1885, the business district had grown to include drug, hardware, furniture, harness, millinery and jewelry stores, a restaurant, meat market, a merchant-tailor, a bank, lumber yard, a creamery and grain and stock dealers. There were also two physicians, two veterinary surgeons and an attorney.
Genoa citizens were ever alert to the demands of the times. One such citizen possessing mechanical and creative qualities, set his hand at automobile production. It was in 1906 that T. J. Hoover added to his machine shop on West Main St. the glamour of automobile production. The company was named "The Practical Automobile Company" and the auto produced was designated PRACTICAL.
No recounting of Genoa's industrial growth can be complete without the telling of the development of the telephone industry here. In 1903 the Eureka Electric Company started a plant and continued to operate until 1907 when a group of men organized and took over the Eureka plant and its equipment and formed the Cracraft-Leich Electric Company. The originators of this company were J.P. Cracraft, Oscar W. Leich, V. A. Messenger and Sidney Stein. In 1917 the company was renamed Leich Electric Company. Its first job under the new name was the production of telephones for the government during World War I. Leich Electric which later became GTE was a major employer throughout the 20th century, playing a key role in the manufacturing of telecommunications equipment with notable contributions during WWII and the Cold War. Today, Custom Aluminum, City Hall, and Sycamore Precision operate out of these buildings.
Throughout the 1900's, businesses filled the downtown as housing grew outwards from the downtown with additional residential lots platted, most significantly after WWII and the housing boom at the turn of the century. Genoa was incorporated as a City in 1911. Shortly after, Genoa proclaimed itself anti-saloon territory, constructed its first sewage system, paved the downtown, and installed new streetlighting to improve safety. The development of rail was critical for economic development in Genoa, providing transportation for not only people but for manufacturing.
As Genoa's population grew, so did community organizations and additional services including a Library in 1922, the Park District in 1943, the Chamber of Commerce in 1956, the Fire District in, and the combined Genoa-Kingston School District in 1949. At the turn of the century, Genoa saw significant residential growth with the additions of the Willow Glen, Derby Estates, Oak Creek, and Riverbend Subdivisions. Additionally, growth extended down Route 23, with the additional of commercial strip malls, an Ace Hardware, Grocery Store, Alan Browne Chevrolet, along with many other commercial businesses.
Historical information is derived from Genoa-Kingston Bicentennial History and Program, 1976
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