GENEVA The capital of Kane county, is situated on both sides of Fox river, and on the line of the Chicago, Fulton & Iowa railroad, 35 miles west from Chicago. The first claim to the land on which the town now stands, was made by Daniel S. H. Haight, Esq., in the spring of 1834. The name was adopted at the suggestion of Dr. Dyer, a prominent citizen of Chicago. In early times, in the county, when the spirit of rivalry was most prevalent between Geneva and its neighbor, St Charles, the former was known by the name of Gnaw-bone, in derision, people in those days having little idea that these thriving towns would ever amount to much.
How they were mistaken the present wealth and prosperity give sufficient evidence. Geneva was made the county seat in 1836, and laid out in the spring of 1837. It contains a court house and other public buildings of note; the former costing upward of $60,000, and will compare favorably with any in the state. There are two bridges across the river at this point, one of which, the railroad bridge, cost $30,000; the other is designed to accommodate the business of the town, and has incurred an expense of $14,000 in its erection. The Kane county bank is also located at Genera. Manufacturing is carried on to a great extent, there being a large grist mill, mower and reaper factory, etc. This reaper manufactory has between thirty and forty thousand dollars invested in buildings, tools, etc. A weekly paper is published here, called the Kane County Advertiser, Wilson & Cockroft, proprietors. Population, 2,000. Thomas A. Scott, Postmaster. (Hawes' Illinois State Gazetteer...,1859)