| Galena | |||
| City | |||
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Downtown Galena, Illinois
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| Name origin: galena, lead sulfide ore[1] | |||
| Country | United States | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| State | Illinois | ||
| County | Jo Daviess | ||
| Landmark | Galena Historic District | ||
| River | Galena River (Illinois) | ||
| Elevation | 633 ft (193 m) | ||
| Coordinates | |||
| Area | 3.7 sq mi (10 km2) | ||
| - land | 3.7 sq mi (10 km2) | ||
| - water | 0.0 sq mi (0 km2) | ||
| Population | 3,429 (2010) | ||
| Density | 926.4 / sq mi (358 / km2) | ||
| Settled | 1690s (French)[2] | ||
| - Founded | 1826[4] | ||
| - Chartered | 1841[4] | ||
| Mayor | Terry Renner[3] | ||
| Timezone | CST (UTC-6) | ||
| - summer (DST) | CDT (UTC-5) | ||
| Postal code | 61036 | ||
| Area code | 815 | ||
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Location of Galena within Illinois
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| Wikimedia Commons: Galena, Illinois | |||
| Website: http://www.cityofgalena.org/ | |||
Galena is the county seat of, and largest city in, Jo Daviess County, Illinois in the United States, with a population of 3,429 in 2010.[5][6] The city is a popular tourist destination known for its history, historical architecture, and ski and golf resorts. Galena was the residence of Ulysses S. Grant, several other war generals, entertainers, and politicians.
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Galena has a rich history that is visible in the city's architecture. Originally inhabited by Sac and Fox Native Americans,[4] by the late 17th century, the French began to settle in the area. In the early 19th century, American settlers began to arrive.[7][8] 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.[4][9]
Once one of the most important cities in the state, 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. Also Galena received national attention in the 1860s as home of General Ulysses S. Grant.
Galena's official flag was adopted in 1976 to symbolize mining, agriculture, steamboats, and the nine American Civil War generals who lived in the city.
The city is named for the mineral "galena",[1] the natural form of lead sulfide and the most important lead ore mineral.[10] Native Americans, including the Sac and Fox tribes, mined the ore in Galena for use in body painting.[4] In the 1690s French trappers discovered the area and began mining the lead.[2][7]
In a little over 100 years, American settlers arrived in the area. George Davenport, a retired colonel in the United States Army, successfully shipped Galena's first boatload of lead ore down the Mississippi River in 1816.[8] Three years later a trading post was built in Galena that led to the first steamboat arrival in 1824.[8] By 1845 Galena was producing nearly 27,000 tons of lead ore and Jo Daviess County was producing 80 percent of the lead in the United States.[8]
Until the late 1980s, Galena remained a small rural farming community. In 1990, local industries included a Kraft Foods cheese plant; Lefco Foundry; John Westwick's foundry; and Microswitch, Inc.
In the 1980s, a tourist campaign was strongly endorsed by then-mayor Frank Einsweiler. Since that time the face of Galena has changed a great deal. Long-standing businesses in the downtown area including Stair's Grocery, Sullivan's Grocery, Clingman's Pharmacy, the oldest continuously operating pharmacy in Illinois, and Hartig's Drugs have closed their downtown locations. Clingman's and Hartig's have relocated to the outskirts of Galena, while Stair's and Sullivan's closed their doors permanently. In late 2010, Clingman's joined the Hartig's family and moved their pharmacy to Hartig's Drugs location along Highway 20.
The Country Fair in Grant Park has helped guide the change to a tourist town. The Country Fair is a craft show that attracts thousands of visitors to the area. The once boarded up buildings of Main Street have also been given a rejuvenation in the past two decades.
In 2010, Galena started a campaign called Vision2020, that is modeled after neighbor Dubuque, Iowa's Vision 2010, a committee which gives the community five ideas out of hundreds brought forth in the community that they want Galena to do in the next decade.
The 32nd annual Halloween Parade was held in 2010, the crowd was estimated at 15,000.
Galena was rated as one of the top ten "Charming Small Towns" by TripAdvisor in 2011.
Galena is located at (42.418171, -90.431472)[11]. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.7 square miles (9.6 km2). Galena is situated along the Galena River, which is one of many tributaries of the Mississippi River.[8]
Galena is located in the Driftless Zone, an area that was not covered by glaciers during the recent ice ages.[4] This area, which includes the far northwestern corner of Illinois, escaped glaciation, while almost the entire state was glaciated, nearly to its southern tip.[12] Because it escaped glaciation, this area is known for its hills, valleys, bluffs and large amounts of exposed rock.[4] See attached photos "Hills of Galena" to see an example of the contrasts created by the lack of glaciers during the last ice age.
Horseshoe Mound is a hill located outside Galena that U.S. 20 winds around before entering Galena. The view from Horseshoe Mound is one of the most photographed spots in the city. It stands at 1,063 feet (324 m) high.
Because of the city's proximity to the Galena River, buildings have been threatened on numerous occasions by flooding.[13] Galena's Congressman, Leo E. Allen, helped acquire funding for city floodgates which were added in 1951 to connect to the river levee system.[13] Significant recorded floods include:
| Climate data for Galena, Illinois | |||||||||||||
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| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | −3 (27) |
−1 (30) |
7 (45) |
15 (59) |
22 (72) |
27 (81) |
29 (84) |
28 (82) |
23 (73) |
17 (63) |
7 (45) |
−2 (28) |
14.1 (57.3) |
| Average low °C (°F) | −13 (9) |
−10 (14) |
−4 (25) |
2 (36) |
8 (46) |
14 (57) |
17 (63) |
16 (61) |
11 (52) |
4 (39) |
−3 (27) |
−9 (16) |
2.8 (37.0) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 29 (1.14) |
32 (1.26) |
57.9 (2.28) |
84.1 (3.311) |
94.7 (3.728) |
116.3 (4.579) |
84.8 (3.339) |
111.3 (4.382) |
91.9 (3.618) |
63.8 (2.512) |
65.5 (2.579) |
41.1 (1.618) |
872.4 (34.346) |
| Source: weather.com[15] | |||||||||||||
As of the census[16] of 2000, there were 3,460 people, 1,570 households, and 893 families residing in the city. The population density was 926.4 people per square mile (358.2/km2). There were 1,821 housing units at an average density of 487.6 per square mile (188.5/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 97.54% White, 0.32% African American, 0.09% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 1.16% from other races, and 0.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.06% of the population.
There were 1,570 households out of which 20.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.7% were married couples living together, 8.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.1% were non-families. 37.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.15 and the average family size was 2.81.In the city the population was spread out with 18.7% under the age of 18, 8.3% from 18 to 24, 24.4% from 25 to 44, 26.4% from 45 to 64, and 22.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 94.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.5 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $36,103, and the median income for a family was $44,063. Males had a median income of $32,172 versus $19,670 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,773. About 4.3% of families and 9.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.8% of those under age 18 and 9.3% of those age 65 or over.
Galena is a very popular tourist destination hosting well over one million visitors each year.[17] Galena is also popular with Chicagoans, many of whom keep second homes in the area.[18][19]
85 percent of the structures in Galena are within the Galena Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and greatly contributes to the city's popularity.[2] The Old Market House State Historic Site, built in 1845, is a museum of local social history. Main Street in downtown Galena has a large number of specialty shops and restaurants and a winery. Galena's Saint Michael's Church was founded by the pioneer priest Father Samuel Mazzuchelli. The church is named after one of the three Archangels. Opened in 1855, the downtown DeSoto House Hotel, is the oldest operating hotel in Illinois.[20] There are also several resorts and golf courses located in the Galena area.[21][22]
Galena is home to Galena High School and since 1992, Tri-State Christian School.[23] Since 2007, Highland Community College has offered classes in the city.
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