Walking through Geneva history
Every notice those three small cottages on the north side of State Street, a bit east of Route 25?
Long ago in Geneva's past, those homes were Swedish workers' cottages. And they're but one highlight of the upcoming East Side Walking Tour, set for July 16 and Aug. 7.
The walking tour will be led by Geneva History Center educator Margaret Selakovich and will offer a fascinating look at some of Geneva's overlooked spots on the near east side, as well as stories about the people who settled there.
The tour - it begins at 7 p.m. on both nights - will begin at a boulder that marks Castle Garden, an immigrant house/way station for Swedish immigrants who arrived in Geneva and had no place to stay, Selakovich said.
That boulder is on Nebraska Street, just south of the Malone Funeral Home at 324 E. State St. Castle Garden was named after New York's Castle Garden on Ellis Island, she said. Geneva's Castle Garden housed four families at a time, one family to a room. "When the man found work, the family would move on, only to be replaced by a newly arrived family," Selakovich explained.
Beyond Castle Garden, the starting point for the tour is significant for another reason: Malone's is on the site of the former East Side School, where Swedish immigrants went to learn to speak English.
What's interesting, Selakovich said, is the 1850 census showed no Swedish immigrants in Geneva. They began arriving sometime between 1850 and 1853, many to work on the railroad, she said. The biggest influx was in the 1880s and 1890s, with many living in quarters such as those three small cottages.
"I'm very excited about this tour," Selakovich said. "The east side is rich in history and there are a lot of good stories out there. It's been a long-awaited tour that's needed to happen."
The boulder and the cottages are just a few stops on Selakovich's tour that will highlight 16 different places on that map she'll distribute. The tour will stay on the south side of State Street (and I think participants will go right past my house!) though, like those cottages, certain landmarks on the north side will be discussed.
Nearly everyone has heard of Sears Roebuck homes, ordered via the Sears catalog and then constructed by the homeowner on-site. Selakovich will discuss three different catalog houses - the other companies were Aladdin and Gordon Van Tine - and point out some east-side samples. She'll also give participants the addresses of other catalog homes throughout Geneva, so those interested can check out more than the ones on the tour.
I don't want to give away the farm, so to speak, but Selakovich also will talk about the Charles Bennett house and the Henry Bennett House, both on State Street, and will weave in information about nearby Bennett Mill, which the Bennetts founded. There are a number of historic homes on Kane Street which will be on the tour. Selakovich will discuss a home on Spring Street that is believed to have once been the barn to Henry Bennett's home and which was moved to its present location in the 1930s. Another home on the tour was built, in part, by the man who started a blacksmith shop where the Mill Race Inn is now.
Selakovich won't just show homes, she'll also impart east-side trivia, and talk history - Bennett Mill, the Mill Race, the blacksmith shop. "I want to talk about the buildings, but I also want to talk about the people," she said.
And it's the people and the stories that make history come alive.
For those who can't attend the tour, the "armchair" version will be held at noon Sept. 9 at the History Center.
For more information or to save a spot, call Selakovich at the Geneva History Center, (630) 232-4951. Cost is $5 for center members and $6 for nonmembers.