Genoa is a

village A village is a human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to a few thousand. Although villages are often located in rural areas, the term urban v ...

in Ottawa County,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

, United States. The population was 2,232 at the 2020 census. Originally settled as Stony Ridge, it took its present name in 1856 and was incorporated as a village on September 7, 1868.

History

In 1835, Timothy and Cinderella Sherman, with their two-year-old son Phillip, became the first people of European descent to settle in what is now Clay Township. Other settlers sprinkled into the

Great Black Swamp The Great Black Swamp (also known simply as the Black Swamp) was a glacier, glacially fed wetland in northwest Ohio and Northern Indiana, northeast Indiana, United States, that existed from the end of the Wisconsin glaciation until the late 19 ...

and the area became known as Stony Ridge, likely due to the limestone bedrock sticking out of the ground and swamp. Ultimately the town owes its existence to a cost-saving decision by the executives of the Toledo, Norwalk, and Cleveland Railroad. In an effort to eliminate eleven miles from the planned railroad line that was to connect Toledo and Cleveland, the railroad opted not to connect Woodville and Perrysburg on the line but instead to proceed in a straight line from Fremont to Toledo. The farmers around Stony Ridge happened to fall on this line. In 1851 work began on the line running through Stony Ridge. During the fall of 1852, iron imported from England was laid down and on December 22, 1852, the first passenger train rolled through a swampy wilderness. Stony Ridge began to develop immediately; within two years there was a saw mill, post office, hotel, and other businesses. Settlers from the East Coast and Europe began to arrive immediately, and churches were founded. Genoa quickly became a prominent source of limestone and with its position on a railroad the area quarries began distributing "Genoa White Lime" across the region. Stony Ridge was renamed Genoa in the spring of 1856, likely to settle confusion with another Stony Ridge, Ohio, just seven miles away. That year the first Genoa school was built, which still exists as Heritage Hall. With the outbreak of the Civil War in 1861 the nation-wide call for troop mobilization went out and Genoa, having a railroad station and thus a connection to the outside world, saw more than one hundred commit themselves to various regiments. The Toledo Blade remarked in 1862 that "few towns have done as well as Genoa in furnishing troops for the Union Army." After the Civil War the community grew more rapidly, in 1868 members of the community petitioned the Ottawa County Commissioners for incorporation and on December 10, 1868, Genoa was incorporated as a village. In 1869 the village purchased the aforementioned school house and it became the village's town hall. From 1883 to 1884 the village and Clay Township jointly constructed a new two-story town hall and opera house. After falling into disrepair by the 1970s, the town hall was added to 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 1976 and was restored with a $755,000 grant from the federal Economic Development Administration in 1978-1979. The Town Hall continues to house the village council chambers, mayor's office, and Genoa Civic Theater.

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 ...

, the village has a total area of , all land.

Demographics

2010 census

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 2010, there were 2,336 people, 944 households, and 603 families residing in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,017 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 96.2%

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 ...

, 0.4%

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 ...

, 0.1% Native American, 0.1% Asian, 1.8% from other races, and 1.3% 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 7.4% of the population. There were 944 households, of which 30.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.9% 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, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.3% had a male householder with no wife present, and 36.1% were non-families. 31.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 3.01. The median age in the village was 40.6 years. 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.7% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 23.9% were from 25 to 44; 25.4% were from 45 to 64; and 19.3% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 48.9% male and 51.1% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 2,230 people, 851 households, and 582 families residing in the village. The population density was . There were 883 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 95.07%

, 0.36%

, 0.31% Native American, 0.27% Asian, 0.04%

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 ...

, 2.47% from other races, and 1.48% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 6.82% of the population. There were 851 households, out of which 33.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.1% were

living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.5% were non-families. 29.1% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 3.11. In the village, the population was spread out, with 25.6% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 28.9% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 18.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 90.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 82.7 males. The median income for a household in the village was $43,750, and the median income for a family was $49,784. Males had a median income of $39,554 versus $22,452 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 village was $22,532. About 1.9% of families and 2.0% 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 3.0% of those under age 18 and 1.3% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Genoa Area Local School District operates one elementary school, one middle school, and

Genoa Area High School Genoa Area High School is a public high school near Genoa, Ohio, United States. It is the only high school in the Genoa Area Local School District. Other towns in the district are Curtice, Clay Center, Martin, and Williston. The nickname for th ...

Notable people

* Joe Mahr, investigative reporter * Harold McMaster, the founder of Permaglass Inc., Glasstech, Inc. and Solar Cells, Inc. * Bill Nolte, Broadway actor best known for playing in ''

Cats The cat (''Felis catus''), also referred to as the domestic cat or house cat, is a small domesticated carnivorous mammal. It is the only domesticated species of the family Felidae. Advances in archaeology and genetics have shown that the ...

''. * Bryan Smolinski, professional hockey player, played college hockey at

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State or MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan, United States. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State o ...

References

{{authority control Villages in Ottawa County, Ohio 1857 establishments in Ohio Populated places established in 1857 Villages in Ohio