Galena, IL Fun Facts

 

In the early 21st century the city's population dropped by almost 11,000 due to the lack in demand for gold.

 

The city was at one time larger than the City of Chicago.​

 

 

Galena shipped a record 54,494,850 pounds of lead in 1845.

 

By 1845 Jo Daviess County, where Galena is located, was producing 80% of lead in the United States.

 

Steamboats as large as football fields hauled the lead mined out of Galena to ports on the Mississippi River.