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History · Genoa

Genoa’s history is
mostly unwritten

The public archives hold only 4 old photos of Genoa. The rest are in attics, shoeboxes and the historical society. Help start the collection.

4old images & papers
2need a date
From Genoa’s archive · credits on each photo

The story

from WikipediaRead it all ↗

Originally named Bad Axe for the river, the present-day name of Genoa came in 1868.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

built from the dates on the items below
1940Photograph with caption "Rock and brush protect…Commons
1950–1989Nothing in the archives yet
1997Genoa Station 3 power plantCommons
Be one of the first

Start Genoa’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Genoa’s history is told.

2 of 10 decades since 1900 have photos 🗓️Date a photo2 archive items have no date+2 🔁Retake an old viewPhotograph with caption "Rock and…, 1940: stand where they stood+15 📦Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Famous people from GenoaWriters, athletes, leaders and more who were born in Genoa.Meet them →
By decade

Genoa, decade by decade

1940s1 item
Photograph with caption "Rock and brush protection mattress, L/D No. 8, Genoa [Wisconsin], General view of 50 ft. mat b…CommonsPhotograph with caption "Rock and brush protection mattress…1940
1950s–
1980s
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
📷 Add from your album
1990s1 item
Genoa Station 3 power plantCommonsGenoa Station 3 power plant1997
Date
unknown2 items
Floodgate rollerCommonsDate?Floodgate rollerUpper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel, Lock & Dam No. 8, On Mississippi River near Houston County, MNLOCDate?Upper Mississippi River 9-Foot Channel, Lock & Dam No. 8, O…
Today14 photos
LaCrosse BWR 1CommonsLaCrosse BWR 12024Genoa Fire StationCommonsGenoa Fire Station2024W-35 WisconsinCommonsW-35 Wisconsin2023Genoa power plantCommonsGenoa power plant2023Genoa aerial photoCommonsGenoa aerial photo2023Former Genoa coal power plantCommonsFormer Genoa coal power plant2023One of the many limestone bluffs along the Mississippi River for which the area around the Great River Road in western …LOCOne of the many limestone bluffs along the Mississippi Rive…2016This tobacco warehouse, along the Mississippi RiverLOCThis tobacco warehouse, along the Mississippi River2016No Trespassing - U.S. Government PropertyCommonsNo Trespassing - U.S. Government Property2016Genoa Wisconsin housingCommonsGenoa Wisconsin housing2016MississippiRiverLockAndDam8GenoaWisconsinWIS35CommonsMississippiRiverLockAndDam8GenoaWisconsinWIS352009GenoaWisconsinSignWIS35CommonsGenoaWisconsinSignWIS352009GenoaWisconsinDowntownSignWIS35CommonsGenoaWisconsinDowntownSignWIS352009La Crosse Boiling Water ReactorCommonsLa Crosse Boiling Water Reactor2008
National Register of Historic Places

Nothing in Genoa is on the National Register yet

That’s true of most small towns. It doesn’t mean Genoa has no history, only that no one has written up a nomination. The closest listed place is Jefferson Grain Warehouse in Jefferson, 4.7 miles away.

Genoa and the nearest listed places

Dashed line = Genoa. Tap a dot.
Jefferson Grain WarehouseIron PostReburn, Thomas, Polygonal BarnChurch of the Holy Comforter-EpiscopalJohnson MillChambers-Markle Farmstead

Closest to Genoa

Jefferson Grain WarehouseJefferson · Built 18684.7miIron PostNew Albin · Object5.8miReburn, Thomas, Polygonal BarnNew Albin · Building6.8miChurch of the Holy Comforter-EpiscopalBrownsville · Building8.8miJohnson MillWinnebago · Built 18779.6mi

How a place gets listed

1Talk to the stateEvery nomination goes through the State Historic Preservation Office. Owners, towns and historical societies can start one.
2Try a local or state list firstMany states keep their own register with a shorter form, a common first step for old barns, halls and schoolhouses.
3Write it upA nomination covers the history, photos and a map. Jefferson Grain Warehouse’s page links to a real one.
Know an old place in Genoa?A mill, a schoolhouse, a cellar hole, a church: add a photo of it to Genoa’s story, or a memory of it.
📷 Add a photo of an old place
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places · photos from Wikimedia Commons

Then & now

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as Photograph with caption "Rock and brush protection mattress, L/D No. 8, Genoa [Wisconsin], General view of 50 ft. mat b… (1940) and it appears here side by side.

🔁 Retake this view · +15

Stories next door

nearby towns’ history
📜 Genoa📜 Crooked Creek📜 Jefferson📜 New Albin

From Wikimedia Commons (15) and the Library of Congress (3). Images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.

The door’s open

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Boundary source: https://tigerweb.geo.census.gov/arcgis/rest/services/TIGERweb/Places_CouSub_ConCity_SubMCD/MapServer/18 · 2025-01-01
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