Genoa is a

town A town is a type of a human settlement, generally larger than a village but smaller than a city. The criteria for distinguishing a town vary globally, often depending on factors such as population size, economic character, administrative stat ...

in Cayuga County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, United States. The population was 1,816 at the 2020 census. The town is named after

Genoa Genoa ( ; ; ) is a city in and the capital of the Italian region of Liguria, and the sixth-largest city in Italy. As of 2025, 563,947 people live within the city's administrative limits. While its metropolitan city has 818,651 inhabitan ...

in Italy. The town is located in the southwestern corner of the county and is north of Ithaca. Genoa is in the heart of the

Finger Lakes The Finger Lakes are a group of eleven long, narrow, roughly north–south lakes located directly south of Lake Ontario in an area called the ''Finger Lakes region'' in New York (state), New York, in the United States. This region straddles th ...

region.

History

The

Sullivan Expedition The 1779 Sullivan Expedition (also known as the Sullivan-Clinton Expedition, the Sullivan Campaign, and the Sullivan-Clinton Campaign) was a United States military campaign under the command of General John Sullivan (general), John Sullivan duri ...

moved through the area in 1779 destroying native villages and stores. Genoa became part of the

Central New York Military Tract The Military Tract of Central New York, also called the New Military Tract, consisted of nearly of bounty land set aside in Central New York to compensate New York's soldiers after their participation in the Revolutionary War. Establishment ...

. The first settlers arrived in 1791. The town was created as Milton in 1789 while still part of

Onondaga County Onondaga County ( ) is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 476,516. The county seat is Syracuse. The county is part of the Central New York region of the state. Onondaga County is the core of the ...

. The name was changed to Genoa in 1808. The name was later adopted for use in Genoa, Illinois by early settler

Thomas Madison Thomas Madison may refer to: * Thomas Madison (politician) (1746–1798), soldier and politician in Revolutionary-era Virginia, and second cousin to U.S. President James Madison. * Thomas Madison (settler), first settler of the city of Genoa, Ill ...

, a Revolutionary War soldier who was inspired by the town in New York. The town was reduced to form the town of Locke in 1802. Genoa was reduced again in 1817 to form the town of

Lansing Lansing () is the capital city of the U.S. state of Michigan. The most populous city in Ingham County, parts of the city extend into Eaton County and north into Clinton County. It is the sixth-most populous city in Michigan with a popul ...

in Tompkins County.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, Genoa has a total area of , of which is land and , or 8.26%, is water. The western town line, marked by

Cayuga Lake Cayuga Lake (, or ) is the longest of central New York's glacial Finger Lakes, and is the second largest in surface area (marginally smaller than Seneca Lake) and second largest in volume. It is just under long. Its average width is , and i ...

, is the border of Seneca County, and the southern town boundary is the border of Tompkins County.

New York State Route 34 New York State Route 34 (NY 34) is a north–south List of State Routes in New York, New York state route located in Central New York. Its southern terminus is at the New York–Pennsylvania border, Pennsylvania state line in th ...

and New York State Route 34B are north-south highways through the town. New York State Route 90 becomes an east-west highway at Jump Corners.

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 1,914 people, 718 households, and 529 families residing in the town. The population density was . There were 927 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 97.02%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 0.52%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.31% Native American, 0.16% Asian, 0.10%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 1.25% from other races, and 0.63% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 2.40% of the population. There were 718 households, out of which 34.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 7.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.3% were non-families. 20.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.67 and the average family size was 3.09. In the town, the population was spread out, with 28.2% under the age of 18, 6.8% from 18 to 24, 26.8% from 25 to 44, 24.8% from 45 to 64, and 13.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 105.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 100.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $43,618, and the median income for a family was $50,473. Males had a median income of $32,679 versus $23,603 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the town was $20,960. About 6.1% of families and 8.2% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 10.9% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.

Communities and localities

*Atwaters – A hamlet in the southwestern corner of Genoa on the shore of Cayuga Lake. *Belltown – A location east of Goodyear Corners. *Bowers Corners – A

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

southeast of King Ferry. *East Genoa – A hamlet in the southeastern part of the town on NY-34. The East Genoa Methodist Episcopal Church was listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

in 2002. *Five Corners – A hamlet in the south of Genoa, east of Goodyear Corners. *Forks of the Creek – A location southeast of Five Corners. *Genoa – A hamlet at the junction of NY-34 and NY-90. *Goodyear Corners – A hamlet south of King Ferry on NY-34B. *Jump Corners – A location west of King Ferry on NY-90. *King Ferry (formerly "Northville") – A hamlet in the northwestern part of town at the junction of NY-34B and NY-90. *King Ferry Station – A hamlet west of King Ferry at the edge of Cayuga Lake. *Little Hollow – A location on NY-90 between King Ferry and Genoa at Little Salmon Creek. *Little Salmon Creek – A stream flowing south through the center of the town, leading to Cayuga Lake. *McQuiggen Corners – A location west of Goodyear Corners. *Weekes Corners – A location between King Ferry and Little Hollow.

Notable people

* John Bascom (1827–1911), educator, writer, president of the

University of Wisconsin A university () is an institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly means "community of teachers and scholars". Uni ...

* Asahel Finch, Jr. (1809–1883), politician and lawyer in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and

Wisconsin Wisconsin ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest of the United States. It borders Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michig ...

Zebina Streeter Zebina Streeter (October 8, 1838 – June 26, 1889) was an American renegade known for the time he spent with the Apache tribes. Beginning in the 1870s, he raided Mexico and the Southwestern United States with Juh, a Chiricahua leader. He gained ...

(1838–1889), renegade known as White Apache who raided with the Apache tribes

References

External links

* {{authority control Towns in Cayuga County, New York Towns in New York (state)