Lima's name was originally Charleston but was renamed in 1808 after Old Lyme, Connecticut, home to many early settlers because there was another Charleston in the state. By 1830, inns, mills, blacksmiths, stores and the post office dotted State Road. The Repulse Fire Company, the first in Livingston County, was organized and the Genesee Wesleyan Conference selected Lima from four other communities, as the site for its Genesee Weslyan Seminary.