Galena has a rich history that is visible in the city's architecture. Originally inhabited by Sac and Fox Native Americans, by the late 17th century, the French began to settle in the area. In the early 19th century, American settlers began to arrive. Following a sharp decline in the demand for lead, Galena's population dropped from 14,000 in the mid-19th century, to 3,396 in the early 21st century.
Once one of the most important cities in the state of Illinois, Galena was the hub on the Mississippi River between St. Louis and St. Paul. Due to erosion, the Galena River is inaccessible to steamboats like it once was.
Ulysses S. Grant in Galena
Grant and his family arrived in Galena in the spring of 1860 and rented a small Federal style brick house (seen at the right). He had ended a fifteen year military career six years earlier, but had enjoyed little business success as a civilian. He hoped to reverse his economic misfortune by moving to northwestern Illinois, where he would work in the Galena store owned by his father and managed by his younger brothers, Simpson and Orvil.
Grant was a clerk in name only; he spent considerable time away from the store, "travelling through the Northwest considerably during the winter of 1860-61. They had customers in all the little towns in south-west Wisconsin, south-east Minnesota, and northeast. Iowa."
Until he left Galena in the spring of 1861 to serve in the Civil War, Grant and his wife, Julia, rented a modest brick home on the west side of the river for approximately $100.00 a year.
