How Lead Money Made a Town Richer Than Chicago Then Lost It All: Galena, Illinois

In 1845, Galena, Illinois was richer than Chicago. The mines around this small river town produced nearly 80% of America's lead, steamboats crowded the Galena River, and merchants built mansions on the bluffs so they could watch their money float downstream. Today Galena has about 3,000 people. Chicago has nearly 3 million. This is the history of Galena, Illinois: how lead mining made it the wealthiest town in the state, how it produced Ulysses S. Grant and eight other Civil War generals, and the three slow forces that took it all away. What's covered: -Why Galena is named after lead ore, and how the 1820s lead rush gave Illinois and Wisconsin their "Sucker" and "Badger" nicknames -The Ho-Chunk land cessions, the Black Hawk War, and the Free Black settlement called Equal Rights -Ely Parker, the Seneca engineer from Galena who wrote out Lee's surrender terms at Appomattox -Elihu Washburne, the Galena congressman who stayed in Paris through the Prussian siege -How deforestation silted the Galena River shut and ended the steamboat trade -Why the Galena and Chicago Union Railroad, Chicago's first railroad, never reached Galena -The twist: why going broke is the reason Galena's 1850s Main Street, the DeSoto House, and Grant's home still stand today If you've ever taken a weekend trip from Chicago to Galena and wondered why the whole town looks frozen in 1856, this is the answer. #GalenaIllinois #IllinoisHistory #UlyssesSGrant #LostHistory #MidwestHistory Chapters: 00:00 The Town That Gave Grant a Furnished House 01:18 Why Galena Is Named After Lead Ore 02:15 The Fever River Lead Rush of the 1820s 02:50 How the Lead Mines Created "Suckers" and "Badgers" 04:08 80% of America's Lead Came From One County 04:44 Steamboats, Mansions and the DeSoto House 06:46 Ho-Chunk Land, the Black Hawk War and Equal Rights 08:07 Ulysses S. Grant, the Leather Store Clerk 08:44 One Small Town, Nine Civil War Generals 09:09 Ely Parker: The Man Who Wrote Lee's Surrender 10:24 Russell Jones, Washburne and the Siege of Paris 11:04 What Happened to Grant's Galena Home 12:07 Killer #1: The Easy Lead Ran Out 12:42 Killer #2: The River Silted Shut 13:21 Killer #3: The Railroad That Never Reached Galena 14:13 Decline, Floods and the 1937 Main Street Flood 14:56 Too Poor to Tear Anything Down 15:19 Galena, Illinois Today 16:17 How Chicago Money Came Back to Galena 17:15 Why Losing the Lead Saved Galena