Time-Warp Towns

Galena, Illinois

Trappers began mining lead in what is now Galena In the late 1700s. Named for the mineral galena, the natural form of lead sulfide and found in lead ore. Galena is recognized for its conserved 19th-century architecture that attracts tourists, skiers, and weekending Chicagoans. Listed in the National Register of Historic Places, Galena has more than 1,000 mostly brick and stone buildings, totaling about 85 percent of the city. Some of those buildings include the DeSoto house, Illinois’ oldest continually operating hotel (1855), the Ulysses S. Grant Home, and a blacksmith shop/museum that’s been in continuous operation for over a century.