Galena, IL is an historic town 3 miles off the Mississippi River and the former residence of Ulysses S. Grant. Galena got its start because of the galena lead in the ground bringing
Steamboats to the area for transportation of the lead and people. Most of the mansions in Galena were built by Steamboat Captains. Many men and women worked hard in Galena but the ones that prospered most were in charge of entertaining and feeding the workers.
We visited Grants house and rode the trolley around town for an enlightening history lesson.
Grants father owned a leather shop in Galena and had Ulysses’ two brothers run the shop. One brother became ill and Ulysses came to Galena to assist his brother with the shop. Ulysses returned to Galena in 1865 a Civil War General and hero so the town welcomed his family with open arms and after a year built and gifted them a furnished home. They lived there for two years and then he was elected President of the USA and moved to Washington DC but often returned to visit Galena. The house was also listed as his official voting address during his 1868 presidential campaign. Most of the heirlooms in the home are original items that the Grant family used.
There is a 9 foot statue of Julia Dent Grant near the Grant home. Less than 5% of all statues in the US depict women and only three of those are of former first ladies. Julia was the first wife to be referred to as the first lady. Julia was constantly telling Ulysses to remove his hand from his pocket so she was not that happy to see the statue she commissioned after his death had his hand in his pocket.
The small town of Galena was home to nine Civil War generals!
Dowling House was built in 1826 and is the oldest house in Galena.
The five story De Soto House opened in 1855 and was the largest and most luxurious hotel in the West. In 1880 Galena’s prosperity had faded so they removed the top two stories of the hotel. We had lunch in the hotel restaurant, Green Street Tavern, that had also served Abraham Lincoln, Stephen A. Douglas, Ulysses S. Grant and many other historical figures.
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