A long time ago, I came across a website that featured a number of historic hikes through central Florida neighborhoods.  I was shocked to find Geneva, Florida on the list – Tiny’s hometown!  I vowed to one day take that hike through Geneva on horseback and explore all the secrets this little village has to offer.  Unfortunately, I can no longer find the website for the hike plan and the print out I’d made is at the barn waiting for me to complete the other half of the ride.  Therefore, the historical information I can provide will be somewhat limited, but the photos are pretty cool!  Come ride with us….

Just for a little bit of background on Geneva, it’s a small rural village northeast of Orlando Florida.  It’s about 12 square miles in size and as of the last census, there were about 2500 residents.  Geneva is horse country.  Much of the land is used for pasture for horses and cows, and even the occasional el paca!  You can’t go far in this town without seeing a horse or a pickup truck.  It’s a nice little town, there are lots of trails for hiking and biking and as I found out, there is a lot of history here!

One of the first things I noted is that people in Geneva like churches.  A lot.  For a place that calls two main streets “downtown” there is quite a variety of churches to be found.  They all have some amazing history and several of them have been around for the better part of the 19th century. 

Clockwise from top left: Missionary Baptist church, Methodist Church, Church of Christ, Baptist Church

The Methodist church is the oldest church still standing in Geneva, having been constructed at its present location in 1912.  The church was originally established on the shore of Lake Geneva in 1880.   The Baptist Church has been at the present location since 1927, after relocating several times during the previous 52 years.  The Church of Christ shown hasn’t been around for all that long (since 1951), but has a colorful history nonetheless!  Apparently in 1998, it was shown in the television show “E.R” which was filmed partially in Geneva!  In addition to these 4 churches, there are five others in the town.

As we continued our ride throughout the more rural sections of Geneva, we came across the old cemetary established in 1880.  It stands at the end of a long dirt road and houses the remains of many of Geneva’s military heroes and the founding families of the town.  Acording to the Geneva History webpage, there are 17 Civil War soldiers buried here.

Tiny and I continued on towards town along 1st Street in Geneva and passed by the old Geneva schoolhouse.  Volunteers in Geneva have been working hard for several years to restore this old schoolhouse and begin using it as a community center.  Actually, today is the grand opening!

We continued on past the schoolhouse and headed into downtown Geneva.  There aren’t many places in Florida where you can ride a horse down the sidewalk and not get stares!

The old Flynt & Rehbinder Store, which is now the Geneva Grocery and Feed Store, was built in 1915.  I’m pretty sure I read somewhere that it was featured in a Coke commercial in the 90′s.

We took our self portrait in the window of the Ole General Store!

As we headed back toward home, I reflected on all that I’d learned in our afternoon ride.  Geneva was a town that I’d lived in for several years, and yet I knew nothing of its history or the people who lived there and where they came from.  It was fascinating for me to catch this little glimpse of history and helped me understand why this tiny community has so much hometown pride.  One of these days I’ll complete the other leg of the ride – the one that encompasses the old Indian artifacts and the more rural locations.  Thanks for riding with me!  Much of the historical information I’ve shared has come from the Geneva Historical Society.  They have a great website with lots of information.  Until next time….

The shore of Lake Geneva; A falcon on a fencepost