A stately survivor

On a recent road trip with Tom Anderson and my trusty sidekick Lil' Nick, we journeyed up to Galena to check out the many historical sights there. We had meant to go downtown and photograph the various historic buildings but the day we visited there were 18 million people there! (Perhaps an exaggeration) So we contented ourselves with visiting the lesser populated attractions. One of these was the historic Galena train depot.

The first settler came in 1821 but that was just the start and by 1828 the population was approx. 10,000 almost the same as Chicago!  Steamboats were the first to utilize the city and it was once the largest steamboat hub on the river north of St. Louis.

But it was the railroads that opened up Galena to the rest of the nation and in 1857 the Illinois Central built a depot in the Italianate style to serve the city and surrounding communities. Perhaps it was fate that it should have been built when it was for just 5 scant years later the country broke out in war. Troop trains, supply trains, all steamed to and from Galena to destinations far from the comfortable homes of the soldiers who had been called up and for one man the train carried him away from home and into History to become our 18th president.

The old depot served the city faithfully for over a century, sending trains off to the Civil war, the Spanish-American war, World Wars 1 & 2, the Korean war, Vietnam. But all good things come to an end and in 1981 the station was stricken from the list of active stations. No more would passengers wait for a train in the old depot. Now the building is a museum, welcoming a new generation of visitors through its doors. If you ever get up that way, I recommend stopping for a while. You won't be sorry you did.