Exhibitions
Located in the heart of downtown on Third Street, the Geneva History Museum offers a 3,000 square-foot Main Gallery, Geneva’s Story, a 950 square-foot feature gallery that changes each year. Children's Gallery Exhibitions offered each summer.
Admission includes two museum galleries - $5/adult; $2/ages 3-10
FREE Tuesdays
FREE for Museum Members
SUMMER HOURS (thru August 23): 10 a.m. - 4 p.m., Tuesdays thru Saturdays
Main Gallery
Geneva's Story
COME SEE THE ADDITIONS TO THE MAIN GALLERY!
Geneva’s story is all around us. It is shaped by the river, connected by the railroad, advanced by development, and enhanced by people who visit or call it home. Chapter by chapter, discover our evolving community. We invite you to hear stories, explore objects, and share memories. Explore oral histories, videos and more images on five iPad stations or sit and relax in the Fargo Theater to discover more of Geneva’s rich history. NEW Story Booth where you can listen to or record your Geneva stories, play the first Apple software graphic games on an Apple IIe computer, and pose in front of our neon selfie wall.
Feature Gallery
Thru December 20, 2025
Explore the rich history of Geneva's restaurants, showcasing their unique contributions to the community. Discover the various elements of culinary identity, visual branding, atmosphere & ambiance, and internal perspectives that made these establishments cultural landmarks.
Learn how these restaurants adapted to national trends and tastes. See how they each created a recognizable public image and crafted inviting environments that reflected the personality and style of the dining experience. Immerse yourself in the touchscreen with a map of restaurants and video stories shared by former restaurant owners and employees. Enjoy this unique look into some of Geneva's most cherished dining establishments.
The Mill Race Inn, 4 East State Street
201 West State Street, Geneva Mining Company
14 South Third Street, Twin Dor Supper Club
Christmas Displays
Open through December 20
18th Century Crèche
A Geneva holiday tradition since 1930
A popular tradition of the Geneva holiday season is the viewing of the crèche, or nativity scene, at the Geneva History Museum. Kate Raftery, originator of The Little Traveler, acquired forty-six figures constructed of terra-cotta, wood, wire and fiber, while traveling in Italy. She displayed the 18th century Neapolitan crèche in a seventeenth century French provincial corner bed at The Little Traveler as early as 1930. On the Monday before Christmas, the display was opened to the public where visitors and shoppers could enjoy carols, cider and hot chocolate.
In 1992, the crèche was found in a flooded basement where it was stored in the off-season and rescued from near destruction. The Little Traveler donated the crèche and the corner bed to the museum for restoration and preservation. Thanks to support from the community, all forty-six figures and the grotto have been restored and the museum is delighted to carry on the tradition of exhibiting the Nativity scene each holiday season.
Come marvel at one of the rarest and magnificent objects in the museum’s collection and enjoy this longtime tradition.
Geneva Giving Trees
Each holiday season since 2008, the Geneva Giving Trees display offers the opportunity for local non-profit organizations to decorate a Christmas tree to reflect their mission. The display has become a Geneva holiday tradition as it calls attention to some of the nonprofit organizations that benefit local citizens and remind us that community comes first.
Enjoy the creative trees and holiday display and vote for the trees by purchasing tickets at the museum and online HERE. The organization that receives the most votes for their tree takes home all of their winnings. The other organizations share their votes 50/50 with the GHM.