The village was founded in 1788 by Paul Davison and Jonathan Gould, veterans of the Sullivan Campaign, who had seen the area during the American Revolution.

Eventually, determined by a Methodist-Episcopal convention in 1870, the college was shut in favor of the newly developed Syracuse University (1871), over the protests of the residents of Lima.

Download coordinates as: The following sites are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 1.4 square miles (3.5 km2), all land.

[7] The eastern boundary of the village is formed by Spring Brook, a northward-flowing tributary of Honeoye Creek and part of the Genesee River watershed.

25.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.