Galena

Galena is named for lead sulphide ore, which was mined here from the 1820s, and by the 1840s the town was a major river port shipping lead down the Galena River to the Mississippi - briefly busier than Chicago. Then the ore ran down, the river silted, the railroads went elsewhere, and the town stopped. Around eighty-five percent of its buildings are in a historic district as a result, with Main Street running below the level of the hillside houses. Ulysses S. Grant lived here before the civil war and the town gave him a house on his return; nine men who became civil war generals came from Galena, which the town does not undersell.

What you actually see

• A Main Street below the hillside - the 1840s commercial fabric.
• Around eighty-five percent historic - preserved by economic collapse.
• Grant's house - given to him on his return from the war.
• The old river port - silted up, now much reduced.

When to go

May to October; autumn colour in October. Half a day.

Honest expectations

Main Street is now almost entirely shops and restaurants for visitors. Autumn weekends fill the town and parking. Streets and stairs are steep. It is a long way from any city.

Nearby

Dubuque is west across the Mississippi; Mississippi Palisades are south.