Geneseo, Illinois City of Geneseo, Illinois, downton about 2015.jpg Downtown Geneseo, Illinois Location of Geneseo inside Illinois Location of Geneseo inside Illinois Wikimedia Commons: Geneseo, Illinois Geneseo is a town/city in Henry County, Illinois, United States.
Geneseo is positioned 20 miles east of the Quad Cities, at the intersection of Interstate 80, U.S.
Geneseo is well known for its Victorian-style architecture, quaint downtown, and its prosperous high school football and music programs. Geneseo was established as a Christian colony in 1836 by seven families of the Congregationalist denomination from Geneseo, New York and Bergen, New York seeking to establish a "church in the wilderness". Roderick R.
Stewart, one of the city's beginning members, titled the town Geneseo after the settlers' town of origin in New York.
Planning for the colony began as early as 1829. In May 1836 the beginning seven families of Geneseo sent an exploratory committee to survey the precise locale of their new improve in the Old Northwest.
The initial town plan for Geneseo, Illinois in 1829 On September 17, 1836, the pioneer embarked on their treacherous journey from Geneseo, New York and Genesee County, New York athwart Canada, down through Michigan, then athwart Indiana and Illinois.
The First Congregationalist Church in Geneseo, Illinois, about 1910 A mandatory tithe on all proceeds (over a certain amount) were set aside to build a theological and educational seminary in the center of town, now the Geneseo City Park. This building, originally known as the Geneseo Manual Labor High School, was later retitled the Geneseo Seminary and was borne of the self-denial philosophy of the town's leaders. However, due to considerable debt, the Geneseo Seminary ended up method in the year 1857 and was closed into the enhance school fitness as Geneseo Central School. Further proving their theological and educational convictions, when many of the town's beginning families hadn't even appeared and while the remainder battled frostbite, the pioneer began a temperance society in 1836 with a several families in Hanna Township and Cleveland, Illinois. Construction on the initial First Congregationalist Church began in 1837 and its first communion was held on April 18, 1838 amid a large hail storm that finished nearly all windows in the small town.
Jairus Wilcox. The Congregationalist Church was so meaningful in Geneseo's early beginning that Ms.
Ella Hume Taylor wrote on the centennial anniversary of Geneseo's beginning in 1936, "The history of Geneseo Colony and of the Congregational Church are so closely interwoven that, for many, to speak of one, meant the other also, for their interests were so in common.
At one time in the early days every adult but one, and most of the children, were members of this church, and for over eighteen years there was no other church affiliation in Geneseo, not until after the barns went through, bringing in those of other denominations, also bringing some foreigners of different beliefs." These strong theological beliefs also firmly influenced the town's political leanings as well, being very strong abolitionists and Republicans. Ella Hume Taylor further wrote that, "scarcely had the colonists erected their cabins before Geneseo became a station of the Underground Railroad for the poor runaway slaves soon learned where friends were.
Sheppard Mansion, 1895 in Geneseo, Illinois.
Downtown Geneseo, Illinois about 1890 The line was instead of in June 1854 and, immediately after that, the Grand Excursion promotional voyage that took prominent politicians and well-off people on a voyage to and down the Mississippi, stopped in the small town. Although Geneseo had grown at a near stand-still since its inception, reaching only 500 persons by 1850, it soon exploded to 5,500 just 11 years later (within the 10-square mile area).
As a testament to the power of the barns , it was quoted by an editor of the Rock Islander, who visited Geneseo, that there were "one hundred new buildings erected in Geneseo" in 1854 alone and "seventy [more] assembled in the present year [1855]." Due to its large growth, Geneseo officially became a town in 1855, by an act of the Illinois State Legislature, and a town/city in 1865. Like many suburbs that experienced a expansion spurt in the middle of the 19th century, Geneseo's wealthier families constructed many of their homes in accordance with Victorian Architecture and a large number of them remain today, giving credence to the name "Victorian Geneseo." Simultaneously with the expansion of the town, Geneseo's first newspaper, the Geneseo Democratic Standard, started in August 1855 by James Bowie.
Hyatt established the Geneseo Republic and began publishing in a building on Main Street.
Geneseo Central School, the first high school in Geneseo, was assembled in 1856 and became coalesced with Geneseo Seminary in 1857. It was used until 1866 when the North Side Building, a four-room brick school home, was constructed where present day North Side Elementary School is located.
Ross in 1889 and positioned on the corner of College Avenue and Second Street, became the official high school for Geneseo in 1890.
In 1883, two higher-education establishments were established in Geneseo, both conferring bachelor's and master's degrees: the Geneseo Collegiate Institute (GCI) and the Northwestern Normal School (NNS).
GCI, a Presbyterian academy that once held 350 students, was positioned on State and Main and encompassed present day Atkinson Hall, which homed a small theological high school for a time. Although a large expansion was prepared for GCI in the early 1900s, the school financially collapsed in 1922 and was razed in 1930. The Northwestern Normal School, a secular college which reached a total of 400 students, was positioned in the Park Villa neighborhood near present-day Hammond Henry Hospital. It, too, collapsed financially and in 1901 John C.
Hammond purchased NNS' old dormitory and presented it to the City of Geneseo to establish Hammond Henry Hospital on November 28, 1901. The old North Side School, Geneseo, Illinois about 1900 In 1909 the Township High School District was established and a new high school was needed for the burgeoning town.
It received a primary expansion in 1932. Officially known as Township High School, it was erected between 1910 and 1911 on North Street next to the First Congregationalist Church and the Geneseo City Park. The old South Side School was then used as an additional undertaking school for K-8 students until the new junior high was assembled on Ogden Ave in 1954.
In the 1960s, Geneseo High School switched places with Geneseo Junior High and became J.D.
Darnall Senior High School (until reverting to Geneseo High School in 2005). The old "Township High School" was then used as Geneseo Junior High School until the 1990s when Geneseo Middle School was assembled next door to J.D.
Today, Geneseo Community Unit School District 228 is the school precinct responsible for providing enhance education for kids in the city.
Malachy School furnish the K-8 education in Geneseo.
Geneseo is often called, "Victorian Geneseo," being known for its historic, Victorian style architecture, tree lined boulevards, various parks, and annual Christmas Walk (originally, Victorian Walk). During the Christmas Walk, downtown businesses offer in-store hospitality and feature live window displays depicting holiday traditions from different decades. The Maple Leafs have won 4 State Championships in football, with 6 second-place state finishes, 54-consecutive winning seasons, and 40 playoff appearances over the last 43 years an Illinois state record. The Geneseo High School Music Department has been very successful, too, with 6 State Championships in music.
On Tuesday evenings throughout the summer, various Geneseo civic groups host ice cream socials in the town/city park with the Maple City Band, as well as other small-town music groups, playing music in the city's bandshell.
On Father's Day weekend, Geneseo jubilates an annual Music Festival which includes various music groups, parade, ice cream social, as well as arts and craft vendors in the town/city park.
On patriotic holidays the "Aisle of Flags" lines the sidewalks of the park with more than seven hundred flags honoring Geneseo veterans. Geneseo is home to two breweries: the Geneseo Brewing Company and Lionstone Brewing.
Memorial Day 2014, Geneseo, Illinois City Park Geneseo Prairie Park - a 1-square mile, natural park positioned along the Hennepin Canal Richmond Hill Park - a 2-square mile park featuring playgrounds, softball diamonds, tennis courts, soccer fields, a theater, disc golf, and rolling hills along Geneseo Creek near Interstate 80 Edwards and Bollen Field Complex - a 1-square mile park of baseball diamonds in southwest Geneseo along US Highway 6 Geneseo City Park - a 3-acre, park in the center of town featuring a hundred maple trees, a band shell, a one-acre open improve space, and playgrounds.
Holting Park - an athletic park featuring a running track, football field, tennis courts, and open space next to the Geneseo Community Center on North St The Mayor (Kathy Carroll-Duda) serves as Chief Executive Officer and also Presiding Officer over the City Council of Geneseo.
According to the 2010 census, Geneseo has a total region of 4.398 square miles (11.39 km2), of which 4.39 square miles (11.37 km2) (or 99.82%) is territory and 0.008 square miles (0.02 km2) (or 0.18%) is water. "CNN - Travel - Guide: Pursuits - Geneseo Christmas".
"Why Geneseo? | City of Geneseo, Illinois".
"Geneseo seals state-record 40 playoff appearance".
"Geneseo knows where it wants Amtrak station".
"Geneseo Illinois Organizations and Clubs".
"Geneseo Parks and Recreation".
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