It is known for its historically successful high school football[3] and music programs,[4] and Victorian architecture.

[8] In May 1836 the founding seven families of Geneseo sent an exploratory committee to survey the precise location of their new community in the Old Northwest.

Advised at a meeting in Chicago by the future Governor of Illinois, Thomas Ford, the small committee rode by wagon and horseback to investigate the 2,000-acre tract.

The transaction of the land was completed in what is today Colona Township and purchased at a dollar and a quarter per acre.

The subsequent winter was so bad that the families remained in Princeton, Illinois and what was known as Providence County while their structures were being established.

Lots would be drawn by chance, assuming that the settlers would build on them, and immediately the town established its Christian and education-focused philosophy.

A mandatory tithe on all proceeds (over a certain amount) was set aside to build a religious and educational seminary in the center of town, now the Geneseo City Park.

[12] Further proving their religious and educational convictions, when many of the town's founding families hadn't arrived and while the remainder battled frostbite, the settlers began a temperance society in 1836 with several families in Hanna Township and Cleveland, Illinois.

It was built with puncheon floors, round poles, and the old wagon covers they used to make the journey.

[15] 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).

[9] Like many towns that experienced a growth 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."

Hyatt founded the Geneseo Republic and began publishing in a building on Main Street.

GCI was a Presbyterian academy which housed a small religious high school for a time.

[12][16] Although a large expansion was planned for GCI in the early 1900s, the school financially collapsed in 1922[6] and was razed in 1930.

South Side was then used as an administrative building until the 1960s when it was demolished to make room for a new district unit office.

Township High was subsequently demolished for additional space for the city park.

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Geneseo has a total area of 4.70 square miles (12.17 km2), all land.

Downtown Geneseo will be a stop on the Chicago to Des Moines Amtrak expansion.