The Village of Genoa and Clay Township agreed in 1884 to build a joint township and village hall in Genoa. Designed by Findley & Shively of Fremont in the High Victorian Gothic style and built by Fred Sandwisch of Woodville for $8,860, the hall became both a seat of government and an auditorium, hosting village and township meetings, Memorial Day services, school graduations, community events, and theatrical productions, while also containing a jail and serving as a municipal garage. In 1890, the Sandusky Register said Genoa could boast one of the finest town halls of any Ohio village its size. By the early 1970s, the auditorium had been condemned and the building's future was uncertain, but Agnes "Tomme" Bergman (1918-2001) and the Genoa Federation of Clubs led an effort to save and revive it. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976, and renovation was completed in 1979 with support from a $755,000 federal Economic Development Administration grant.