What do the Ably House, DeSoto House, Logan House, and Market House all have in common? Ghost stories!

Galena has a very rich and storied past as a semi-lawless frontier town.  People were drawn here from all over the world, speaking many different languages.  They were unknown to one another - leading to suspicion and skepticism.  While there were no Salem-style witch trials, non-English speaking immigrants were again and again stereotyped and brutalized.

With little or no sanitation system, outbreaks of cholera were frequent and devastating.  Smallpox, Yellow Fever, and various other disease outbreaks were almost routine.  Mass burials in the Old City Cemetery are now just a vacant lot, but contain the remains of hundreds of early settlers with no marker or clear record of who they were.

There was an ongoing threat of attack from the indigenous communities (in retaliation for injustices inflicted upon them).  Travel to and from Galena could be deadly - not only from indigenous people as you trespassed through their lands, but the perilous river crossings and sometimes rocky, sometimes swampy terrain would also tempt your fate.  And that is only if you travel over land.

River travel had it's own litany of horrors - the Mississippi River was a constantly moving channel, with rocky rapids and submerged obstacles invisible in the muddy water always threatening to tear holes in any boat that passed.  Going upstream meant polling, towing, or bushwhacking.  With the advent of the steam engine, travel upstream got easier but far more deadly - fires destroyed many a steamboat, and scalding steam from exploding boilers burned many victims (leading to the creation of maritime or "marine hospitals," including the one in Galena).   Trains would prove no safer, with one trainload headed for the Civil War derailed south of Galena, killing all on board.

Thus early Galena was the perfect background for haunting tales of mysterious deaths and apparitions that are passed down from generation to generation.  Walk Main Street and look up at the various architectural styles and ornamental masonry and you will get a sense of past aspirations in this ghostly little town, and if you stand still you will feel the presence of ghosts from the past who share the sidewalk with you.  Don't worry - they are too busy in their errands to notice you.

From left, first full building is 515 S Main St,
current office of the Galena Gazette.
Buildings to right are now gone.

500 block of South Main - all buildings now gone. 
Building on left is continuation of previous picture;
building on right is continued on next picture.

These buildings are gone.
A parking lot sits on the site.