Geneva area was first surveyed in 1796 by Moses Cleaveland, founder of Cleveland, Ohio. The area was part of a land packet owned by the Connecticut Land Company and known as the Western Reserve. Cleaveland noted he found no Indians living in Geneva, although large encampments existed at the time as near as Windsor and Andover.

Indians did roam the area, however, as many farmers can prove with collections of arrowheads and other artifacts unearthed by their plows. Ohio Flint outcroppings were a favored source of supply for the artisans who fashioned these early weapons and tools. Colorful flint (Ohio's gemstone, actually a form of agate) can still be found along the ridges and beaches and broken up in the soil.

In 1798, Captain A. Harper of Harpersfield, New-York, purchased the area from the Connecticut Land Company. In 1798 he led a group of settlers to the north-east corner of what is now Harpersfield Township, naming the sections after his New York home. These settlers built the first log cabin in the area.

By 1801, there were approximately 150 settlers here. By 1815, what soon would someday be downtown Geneva was thriving, with a grist mill, tannery, distillery and blacksmith shop clustered around the north ridge intersection with Cowles Creek. In 1825, iron ore was found along the banks of Cunningham Creek in the Geneva area. The resulting ores-melting operation helped to boost the area's population to 2,000 at a time when the population of Cleveland was only 4,000. The plant closed in 1842, however, when the ore was depleted.

In 1866, Geneva was incorporated as a village with a population of 1,000. At the turn of the century an armory (now the Geneva Municipal Building) and Geneva's first hospital were constructed. Geneva Metal Wheel and Geneva Automobile Manufacturing Company also appeared. Genevan Ransom E. Olds developed the Oldsmobile and the REO in Geneva, and Ewing taxi cabs and the Geneva Steamer were also produced here, until General Motors purchased the company in 1910 and moved it to Michigan.

By 1920, 3,081 people were living in Geneva Village. By 1953, with a population of over 5,000, Geneva officially became a city. In the 1980's the steel industry took a dive and with it the Genvan economy. Several important national companies supply the local economy, assuring a high-quality standard of life with an average per capita income of $11,000. Today Geneva is the home of more than 5,000 people. It has an important wine industry and is famous for it's covered bridges.