Genoa, named by the Mormon Pioneers, was one of several temporary settlements established by the Church of the Latter Day Saints in 1857 along the 1000-mile trail from Florence, Nebraska to Salt Lake City. These settlements served as way-stations for the Brigham Young Express and Carrying Company, which held the government mail contract to Salt Lake City, and as rest and supply stops for Saints traveling across the plains. Mormons from St. Louis, Florence, and Alton, Illinois were called to establish Genoa in the spring of 1857, and the colony arrived on May 16. During the first year, 100 families settled there and began fencing land and planting crops under the direction of Brother Allen, mission president. A steam powered mill was built, and log, frame, and sod structures were erected to house the settlers and their livestock. In the fall of 1859, the colony was forced to abandon Genoa when the settlement became part of the newly created Pawnee Indian Reservation. Genoa then served as the Pawnee Indian Agency until 1876, when the Pawnee were removed to the Indian Territory and the reservation lands were offered for sale.