Built in 1918. Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2003.
One of 86 National Register listings published here for Kane County · listed in 2003 · category: District · built in 1918.
Sources: the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service · the Wikipedia article
The chapter on Geneva Township in History of Kane County, Ill., published 1908 names Geneva. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
At a meeting of the Inhabitants of the Town of Geneva in tlie Count)' of Kane and State of IlHnois at the School House in said Town on the 28th day of January A. D. 1845 '" pursuance of a notice given ten days previous to said Meeting and agreeable to an Act to incorporate the Inhabitants of such Town as may wish to be incorporated and approved Feb. 12th 1831, and on motion Leonard Howard was chosen President and Xelson Warner Clerk, who were duly sworn, when the inhabitants proceeded to vote viva voce and then were their votes in favor of Incorporation and six votes against incorporation.
Passage source: History of Kane County, Ill., published 1908.
The first actual settlement within the corporation of the present town was made in the fall of 1833, by Daniel S. Haight, who built a log cabin near the Geneva Springs, and occupied the same with his family. !Mr. Haight's claim embraced all. or nearly all, of the present site of Geneva, and was sold to James Herrington. December. 1834. It is stated that James Brown made a claim the same time as Mr. Haight, which joined the latter's on the north, and which was purchased by Mr. Frederick Bird in 1834. for $30. In 1834 Mr. Frederick Bird and family located a little north of the present city corporate limits, and James Herrington made purchase of the
Passage source: History of Kane County, Ill., published 1908.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Geneva Township - 2,983 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 4 fires within 5 miles of Riverbank Laboratories between 2013 and 2014, burning about 8 acres in total. None started naturally. None was recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 2 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 5 June 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2014-562 |
| 7 April 2014 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 14-177 |
| 6 April 2014 | Debris and open burning | 2.0 acres | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2013-300 |
| 6 April 2013 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | Illinois Division of Forestry Resources | 2013-294 |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 5 workings within 5 miles of Riverbank Laboratories: 3 past producers, 2 producers. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Stone, Crushed/Broken, Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bald Mound Pit, Site #5 | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Producer | ||
| Aurora Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Hendrickson Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Riverbank Stone and Lime Quarry No1 | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer | ||
| Riverbank Stone and Lime Quarry No2 | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Past Producer |
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Geneva, the town this property stands in, in 37 storm reports between 1998 and 2024: 22 thunderstorm wind, 10 hail, 2 flood, 2 tornado. The reports record 3 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | 2 hurt | Two injuries occurred when a wind gust estimated to near 60 mph slammed part of a picnic table into two people. One person was struck in the head and knocked unconscious. Her injuries required a three-hour brain surgery. The other person injured was a minor, and no details were released. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | 1 hurt, $20,000 | Several trees and tree limbs were blown down along Chalmers Street. One large tree was completely uprooted. Other tree limbs and power lines were blown down across the east side of Geneva. A van on Nebraska Street lost its back window when hit by a tree limb and a man in his 20s was hit in the head by the tree limb, requiring 20 stitches. |
| July 2023 | Lightning | Geneva | $700,000 | Lightning struck a townhouse in St Charles causing a fire to break out. The fire spread into the next townhouse severely damaging both buildings. Two firefighters were injured while battling the fire. The exact extent of their injuries is unknown, but both of them were released from the hospital within the next day. Damages were estimated at more than $700,000. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | $50,000 | Extensive tree and power line damage across Geneva. |
| June 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | $10,000 | Several trees were blown down, including some that fell on top of vehicles and power lines. |
| November 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | $10,000 | A three-sided store directory was blown off its foundation. Awnings were blown off two stores and four panels of a fence were destroyed. |
| June 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | $3,000 | Numerous tree limbs and power lines were blown down. |
| June 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | $2,000 | A tree was blown down on Gray Street. Tree limbs and power lines were also blown down in parts of Geneva. |
| February 2024 | Tornado (EF1) | Geneva | - | This tornado touched down along Keslinger Road west of Randall Road in Geneva. The first instance of damage was noted to a metal garage/storage building, which had portions of roofing and walls damaged or removed and was shifted off its foundation. The structure did not appear to be properly anchored to its foundation. Trees and a traffic light were then damaged as the tornado crossed the intersection, with shingle, soffit, and siding damage noted at a commercial building before the tornado moved into a residential area. A concentrated corridor of damage consistent with EF-1 wind speeds near 95 mph occurred along Cambridge Drive and Essex Court, where damage to several roofs and windows was observed. In addition, nearby trees were significantly damaged with almost all large branches snapped. The tornado weakened and narrowed as it moved east just north of Kaneville Road, with tree damage noted until the tornado dissipated near Kaneville Road and Burgess Road. The tornado was on the ground for fewer than two minutes. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | - | Numerous trees and large branches were downed in the Randall Square park area near Fabyan Pkwy. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | - | A tree had fallen down onto a house on Maple Ln near Center St in Geneva. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | - | Numerous trees and tree limbs were blown down in Geneva, just northeast of Route 38. |
| July 2024 | Tornado (EF0) | Geneva | - | A brief tornado with estimated peak winds of 80 mph touched down just northwest of Route 38, about halfway between Peck Road and Randall Road. The tornado moved southeast causing roof damage to a self storage building, damaging a greenhouse and tossing shopping cart corrals around at a grocery store. A light pole was knocked over and several trees were snapped and uprooted. The tornado ended just northeast of the intersection of Randall Road and Bricher Road. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | - | Wind gusts were estimated to 60 mph at Route 38 and Peck Road. |
| April 2023 | Hail | Geneva | - | Quarter size hail was reported at the Kane County Government Building. |
| September 2022 | Hail | Geneva | - | Multiple reports of hail ranging from 1 inch to 1.50 inches in diameter were received from Geneva. |
| September 2022 | Hail | Geneva | - | Hail as large as 1.25 inches in diameter was reported on the west side of Geneva which knocked down twigs and leaves. |
| September 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | - | Trees were blown down near Peck Road. |
| September 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | - | Photos shared on social media showed several trees snapped along Route 38. |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | - | A fence was blown down. |
| August 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | - | An Oak tree was blown down blocking Fulton Street. |
| July 2016 | Flood | Geneva | - | Street flooding at Kirk Rd and Wilson. Water up to the tops of tires on turning lanes. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | - | Large tree limbs were blown down throughout Geneva. |
| July 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | - | A four foot diameter tree was blown down. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | - | A large tree, 18 to 24 inches in diameter, was blown down in a parking lot at the Kane County Emergency Management Office. |
| August 2007 | Flood | Geneva | - | Some street and yard flooding with 0.78 inches of rain in 40 minutes. |
| August 2007 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | - | Measured gust to 58 mph. |
| August 2007 | Hail | Geneva | - | Quarter size hail reported at Main and Randall Roads. |
| March 2005 | Hail | Geneva | - | Nickel sized hail reported at the intersection of Fabian and Kirk Rds. |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | - | Large tree limbs were down. |
| May 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | - | Large tree limbs were down. |
| July 2019 | Hail | Geneva | - | no account filed |
| April 2010 | Hail | Geneva | - | no account filed |
| September 2009 | Hail | Geneva | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Geneva | - | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Geneva | - | no account filed |
| November 1998 | Thunderstorm Wind | Geneva | - | no account filed |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Fabyan Villa | under 500 feet | 1984 |
 | Campana Factory | 0.4 miles | 1979 |
 | Dutch Mill | 0.4 miles | 1979 |
| Campana Factory (Boundary Decrease) | 0.5 miles | 1979 | |
 | Elizabeth Place | 0.7 miles | 2008 |
 | Gridley, Mrs., A. W., House | 0.8 miles | 1993 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 03001204 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Kane County | All 86 listed properties in this county. |
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