Geneva

Geneva at the north of Seneca Lake has a long history. Hobart and William Smith Colleges trace their origins to Geneva Academy, established 1797. The institution's specific claim: Elizabeth Blackwell applied to and was rejected by 29 medical schools before being admitted to Geneva Medical College in 1847. She graduated at the head of her class, the first woman to receive a medical degree in the United States. The campus sits on the lakefront bluff. The lake view from it is the best free view at the north end.

The Erie Canal bypassed Geneva, as did the railroads later, which is why it never became a major center of commerce, and why it has a downtown that still functions as one. The Smith Opera House on Seneca Street has been presenting performances since 1894. Cornell's New York State Agricultural Experiment Station is here, the same institution where scientists spent decades insisting European wine grapes could not survive the Finger Lakes winters, and where Konstantin Frank eventually proved them wrong. Geneva on the Lake, a restored 1911 lakefront villa, is the most distinctive lodging on Seneca.