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Lake Geneva, Wisconsin

19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1893 and the latest in 1980. It stands in Lake Geneva City. It lies in ZIP code area 53147. The Survey maps it on the Lake Geneva quadrangle. 8,277 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 879 feet above sea level.

Lake Geneva within Walworth County

On record in Lake Geneva

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 11 records

Population over time

2 figures

Lake Geneva grew from 7,651 to 8,277 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20107,651
20208,277+626 (+8%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

10 surveys from 19 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

In the county-history sources

9,371 words on this township

History of Walworth County, Wisconsin .., published 1912 names this settlement in its chapter on Lake Geneva City. These are the passages that mention it, exactly as the scans read.

Three weeks after the battle a new party came 'from Chicago by way of Marengo. While the late contention was in progress Mosher and Van Slyke had slipped away and. representing themselves as sole claimants at Lake Geneva, had tried to induce Lewis B. Goodsell, George L. Campbell and Andrew Ferguson to buy their rights, which they offered at a low rating. Goodsell had known Van Slyke at Cooperstown, and did not fully trust him; but he risked and lost four hundred dollars. Mosher then went out into the vastness of Illinois, and Walworth knew him no more. Payne heard of this sale and, as he was unable to renew war. he went to Chicago and thus Goodsell learned some useful truth. Hodgson, too, was sent for, and came from Waukesha. He first offered to sell to Noyes and Coe a half-interest in the mill section, if Ostrander and Henry would sell their shares; but these men saw some larger advantage in holding them. Hodgson then offered to give his quarter-interest if his past expenses were paid. But Noyes had now some larger plans. The Goodsell party had found R. Wells Warren at St. Charles and had taken him into their partnership, and to these men Hodgson sold his own and Brink's rights - without the latter's knowledge or approval. Payment of two thousand dollars left the Goodsell-Warren party in possession and the settlement of Lake Geneva went peaceably forward unto this day.

Passage source: History of Walworth County, Wisconsin .., published 1912.

Mr. Simmons, in his "Annals," mentioned other manufacturing enterprises - among them the Crawford reaper works in 1875. Most of these began with reasonable hope of success and some of them flourished for a few years, bringing to the village increase of population and general trade, and some of that good remains. But the conditions which now for long have brought the smaller factories throughout the country quite generally to naught have been felt here. If water power is of yet further use to man as, no doubt, it is. that at Lake Geneva will not forever flow uselessly, or but for minor uses, on its tortuous way to the gulf.

Passage source: History of Walworth County, Wisconsin .., published 1912.

As early as 1842 Rev. Thomas Morrissey came from Milwaukee periodically to minister to Catholic families about Lake Geneva. Vicar-general Kundig organized the parish of St. Francis de Sales in 1847, and its members have since built two or three churches. The last is a well-built and well-furnished building, near the east end of Main street, a well-chosen site. It was built within the period of Father Reilly's pastorate, at a cost of eighteen thousand dollars. Its fine organ was the gift of Patrick J. Healy, of Chicago. A suitable rectory, a convenient hall for social and other entertainments and a cemetery are included in the now valuable church property.

Passage source: History of Walworth County, Wisconsin .., published 1912.

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 Lake Geneva City - it names this place 9 more 9 times.

Fires near this place

19 since 2012

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 19 fires within 5 miles of Lake Geneva between 2012 and 2020, burning about 64 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 were 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 burning11
Missing data/not specified/undetermined5
Arson/incendiarism2
Power generation/transmission/distribution1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
15 July 2019Debris and open burning1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources297
3 June 2018Missing data/not specified/undetermined1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources222
8 May 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources1800429
30 April 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources1800394
30 April 2018Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources128
30 April 2018Debris and open burning5.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources175
25 April 2018Debris and open burning5.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources115
23 April 2019Debris and open burningunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources125

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Walworth County

Mines and quarries near this place

4 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 4 workings within 5 miles of Lake Geneva: 3 producers, 1 past producer. 3 still produce. What was taken out: 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 SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Casey PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Devil's Hill PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Home PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Ryan PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Walworth County

Storms near this place

39 since 1995

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lake Geneva in 39 storm reports between 1995 and 2023: 21 thunderstorm wind, 10 hail, 3 lightning, 2 tornado. The reports record 6 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.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2000Flash FloodLake Geneva4 hurt, $350,000no account filed
July 1998Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva2 hurt, $1,500,000no account filed
August 2015Tornado (EF1)Lake Geneva$100,000An EF1 tornado caused a sporadic path of damage. The most severe damage was significant roof damage to 4 buildings that were warehouse buildings and metal building systems. One of those buildings sustained a collapsed wall. There was minor damage to a mobile home and a barn. A couple large retail signs were destroyed. There were many trees uprooted and snapped.
May 2004Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva$50,000no account filed
September 1997LightningLake Geneva$50,000no account filed
June 2010Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva$25,000Public reported trees and power lines down. A house was damaged resulting in approximatley $2,000 worth of damage.
October 1996Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva$20,000no account filed
August 2009Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva$15,000Numerous public reports were made of trees blown down and power lines down in the city of Lake Geneva.
May 2008LightningLake Geneva$10,000A lightning strike caused a house fire to the roof area.
August 2006LightningLake Geneva$10,000A home's roof antenna was struck by lightning, resulting in a minor roof fire.
July 2011Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva$8,000Law enforcement officials reported trees down in a 6-mile wide swath from west of Lake Geneva to east of Lake Geneva due to damaging thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 56 knots (64 mph). A car was damaged when a tree fell on it.
April 2023Tornado (EF0)Lake Geneva$6,000EF0 tornado uprooted numerous trees and caused minor shingle and soffit damage to a home in the Cobble Creek neighborhood. A fire pit was lofted from one property to an adjacent one.
July 2006Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva$5,000Trees and power lines down.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva$4,000no account filed
June 1997Heavy RainLake Geneva$3,500A downpour of 1.41 inches of rain washed a gravel driveway out, allowing a parked van to slide down a slope into the White River.
May 1998Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva$3,000no account filed
June 1998Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva$3,000no account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva$1,000no account filed
June 1999Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva$1,000no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva$1,000no account filed
July 1997Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva$1,000no account filed
July 2012Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva-Law enforcement officials reported scattered trees and a power pole were blown down by severe thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 56 knots (65 mph) in a swath from 3 miles southwest of Lake Geneva to Lake Geneva.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva-Powerful thunderstorm winds pushed over several large trees.
June 2008HailLake Geneva-Hail fell at Lake Como.
March 2006HailLake Geneva-Two vehicle accidents occurred during hail storm due to hail accumulations creating slippery road surfaces.
June 2006Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva-Trees down.
April 2023HailLake Geneva-no account filed
September 2021HailLake Geneva-no account filed
May 2017HailLake Geneva-no account filed
July 2017HailLake Geneva-no account filed
April 2015HailLake Geneva-no account filed
June 2010Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva-no account filed
May 2006HailLake Geneva-no account filed
September 2005HailLake Geneva-no account filed
March 2000HailLake Geneva-no account filed
July 1997Funnel CloudLake Geneva-no account filed
June 1995Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva-no account filed
August 1995Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva-no account filed
August 1995Thunderstorm WindLake Geneva-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Walworth County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Shady Side (historical)1.9 miles19
Como3.0 miles19
Springfield3.6 miles19
Lake Como3.6 miles19
North Bloomfield4.3 miles18
Linton5.4 miles19
Lyons5.7 miles19
Pell Lake5.7 miles18

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Lake GenevaAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q82230The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1581223. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.