Geneva Nebraska - Nebraska Directory

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City · Fillmore County · County seat · Population 2,136 (2020 census) · ZIP 68361 · Founded 1871 · Peak population 2,400 (1980)

About Geneva

Geneva is a city of 2,136 people (2020) and the seat of Fillmore County, at 1,637 feet on US 81 about 24 miles south of I-80 at York. It has the county courthouse, Fillmore County Hospital, Fillmore Central’s elementary and high schools, Heritage Crossings and the Geneva Public Library. Geneva is on Central Time.

History

When Fillmore County was organized in 1871, the county seat was placed at its geographic center on state school land and platted as Henry; in 1872 it was renamed Geneva at the suggestion of a settler’s daughter, after her family’s former home (Geneva, Illinois, or Geneva, New York; sources differ). The townsite was bought on June 17, 1872, and Geneva incorporated as a village on July 8, 1879. The Burlington built in from the north in May 1886 and the Fremont, Elkhorn & Missouri Valley arrived from Exeter in 1887. The Richardsonian Romanesque courthouse, designed by George E. McDonald, was built in 1894 for $46,176; jeweler W. P. McCall added the clock tower in 1909. On July 15, 1934, Geneva reached 118°F, Nebraska’s record high, later tied at Hartington and Minden in July 1936. The population peaked at 2,400 in 1980. Nobel economist Robert B. Wilson (1937) and Kate Barnard (1875), the first woman elected to statewide office in Oklahoma, were born in Geneva.

Highways and trails through Geneva

Route	One way	Other way
US 81North–south through the city	North to Fairmont and York (I-80)	South past Strang to Bruning and Hebron

Nearby towns

Fairmont	about 7 mi north	US 81
Strang	about 8 mi south	US 81
Grafton	about 9 mi northwest	County roads
Shickley	about 10 mi southwest	County roads
Exeter	about 11 mi northeast	County roads
Ohiowa	about 11 mi southeast	County roads
Milligan	about 11 mi east	County roads
Bruning	about 14 mi south	US 81
Sutton	about 15 mi west-northwest	County roads
McCool Junction	about 15 mi north	US 81
York	about 23 mi north	US 81

Things to see

the Fillmore County Courthouse, 900 G St. (1894; clock tower 1909; National Register 1978) · six more National Register properties: The Auditorium (160 N. 9th St.), the Geneva Post Office (202 N. 9th St.), the First Congregational Church (906 H St., listed 2025), Warner’s Filling Station and House (737 and 745 G St.), and the J. M. Burk, Dempster-Sloan and George W. Smith houses (private) · Sandpiper WMA, 5 miles west and 1½ miles south · Hidden Hills Country Club golf, 1115 Road L · the Fillmore County Fair, July 13–20 in 2026 · Geneva Inn, 328 S. 13th St.

Events in Geneva

Fillmore County Fair
Fillmore County Fair, a county fair in Geneva, Nebraska.

Know of another event here? Tell us about it.

Schools and health care

Schools: Fillmore Central Public Schools: Fillmore Central Elementary (PK–4), 225 N. 17th St.; Fillmore Central High School, 1410 L St. (the middle school is in Fairmont)

Health care: Fillmore County Hospital (critical access, 24-hour emergency), 1900 F St., (402) 759-3167; Heritage Crossings (skilled nursing and assisted living), 501 N. 13th St., (402) 759-3194; Fillmore County Medical Center, P.C. (family medicine), 1840 F St., (402) 759-4485

Sources: U.S. Census; Wikipedia; Andreas, History of the State of Nebraska (1882); History Nebraska Fillmore County historic buildings survey (2020) and markers; National Register; Nebraska Game and Parks; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; UNL climate records; Nebraska Secretary of State; Nebraska Department of Education; Fillmore County; City of Geneva; Nebraska 211; Visit Nebraska. Distances marked "about" are straight-line estimates.