The village was founded in 1788 by Paul Davison and Jonathan Gould, veterans of the Sullivan Campaign, who had seen the area during the American Revolution. The village of Lima was organized in 1797 as the "Village of Charleston", but in 1808 the name was changed to "Lima", after Old Lyme, Connecticut.. The Genesee Wesleyan Seminary / Genesee College was one of the first co-educational schools in the country when it opened in 1822. Eventually, determined by a Methodist-Episcopal convention in 1870, the college was shut in favor of the newly developed Syracuse University, over the protests of the residents of Lima.
Notable residents
Belva Ann Lockwood, first female attorney to practice before the Supreme Court
Kenneth Keating, U.S. representative, senator, and ambassador to Israel
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,459 people, 770 households, and 532 families. The population density was 1,783.4 people per square mile. There were 800 housing units at an average density of 580.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 95.65% White, 1.46% Black or African American, 0.41% Native American, 0.73% Asian, 0.12% Pacific Islander, 0.49% from other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.71% of the population. There were 770 households, out of which 36.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.3% were married couplesliving together, 10.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.8% were non-families. 25.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.15. In the village, the population was spread out, with 22.6% under the age of 18, 19.0% from 18 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 20.7% from 45 to 64, and 8.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $41,646, and the median income for a family was $52,102. Males had a median income of $29,966 versus $25,429 for females. The per capita income for the village was $15,622. 5.3% of the population and 3.4% of families were below the poverty line. 3.4% of those under the age of 18 and 6.6% of those 65 and older are all living below the poverty line.
