Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns. What drives it
Most of Galena was built recently: 5% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1984. Below: maps from 1939 on and old-book passages.
The Galena post office opened in 1843, the earliest record of the town by name.
More historic than 56% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Galena is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns. Its age holds the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
Indiana towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Indiana town has 7.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Galena’s 6.5 sits near the middle of its state (57% of Indiana towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% of U.S. towns.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Galena’s history is told.
From Wikipedia’s history of Galena.
Galena was originally called Germantown, and under the latter name was platted in 1837. A post office was established as Galena in 1843, and remained in operation until it was discontinued in 1933.
Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Passages that mention Galena, cut from the printed page as they were published.
Langworthy, who had been engaged in lead mining at Galena since 1824, resolved to visit the Dubuque mines. The lead mines in the Dubuque region were an object of great interest to the miners about Galena, for they were known to be rich in lead ore.
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
About 500 people arrived in the mining district in 1833, after the Indian title was fully extinguished, of whom 150 were from Galena. In the same year Mr. Langworthy assisted in building the first school-house in Iowa, and thus was formed the nucleus of the populous and thriving city of Dubuque. Mr. Langworthy lived to see the naked prairie on which he first settled become the site of a city of 15,000 inhabitants, the small school-house which he aided in constructing replaced by three substantial edifices,
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Galena. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Galena.
The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
Nobody well known was born in Galena itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.
Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.
The Galena post office opened in 1843, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
Galena is more historic than 56% of U.S. towns. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
5% of Galena’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±5.4 points), against a typical 14% for an Indiana town; the median home was built in 1984.
What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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