Galena was a huge mining town in the mid-1800's.  Galena was one of the largest steamboat ports along the Mississippi River between St. Louis and St.Paul, making Galena an important city and a possible place for the railroad port in Illinois. Galena was a small city with a small population, but due to the high volume of lead leaving the city and goods coming in, Galena's population rose, 14,000 at its highest. Galena's population growth is all thanks to the lead mining in the area.  As miners flooded the area in the 1820s, the rural outpost grew into a busy river port. By the 1830s, Galena's population was larger than Chicago's. Galena residents believed the thriving port would become what Chicago is today. This population growth and the fact that Galena was a water port prompted a railroad to and from Galena.  This helped Galena's population grow even more rapidly then it already was.  This propsed railroad was the Galena & Chicago Union Railroad, the first railroad to Chicago, chartered in 1836.  The first tracks were laid in 1848, they lead to the now, Oak Park, not Galena.  The railroad's terminal was on Canal and Kinzie.  The railroad travels from Chicago to Clinton, IA and Freeport, IL never actually stretches to Galena. Although the railroad never actually reaches Galena it brought new popularity and prestige to the small mining city.