Galena’s post office opened in 1877, and 37% of its homes were built before 1940
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns · #44 of 151 in Kansas. What drives it
2 places in town are on the National Register, among them a historic district. Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1880.
The Galena post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name. Two smaller post offices, Leedsville (1876) and Empire City (1877), opened inside today’s city and later closed.
First census: 1,463 in 18802020 census: 2,761149 years
How historic is Galena?
B+
More historic than 70% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.
Founding year: the first Galena post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓
History grade
What drives Galena’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Galena is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #44 of 151 in Kansas. Its share of homes from before 1940 holds the grade up; its age pulls it down.
B+
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Galena’s overall grade.
Kansas towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Kansas town has 5.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Galena’s 7.3 sits near the middle of its state (55% of Kansas towns have fewer) while its 2 listings outnumber those of 60% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C+ to A−. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±10.1 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
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 →
What stands out about Galena’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
Although the railroad was built through the territory of Galena in 1871, the community did not start until the discovery of lead there in the spring of 1877. The first post office was established in 1877.
The city was originally platted by the Galena Mining and Smelting Company and was to be known as Cornwall. The city was actually known as Short Creek when first established because of a nearby creek and was known as Bonanza briefly before taking the present name of Galena in 1877, which is named after the lead ore galena found in the area. The city was part of the tri state mining area and had over 30,000 inhabitants. The population decreased after the mines closed in the 1970s.
Passages that mention Galena, cut from the printed page as they were published.
History of Cherokee County, Kansas1904 · page 161Read the page →
Read the text
At the time of the discovery of lead and zinc, Galena had no railroad. It was about the year 1879 that the Kansas City, Fort Scott & Gulf Railroad was extended to Galena, from Baxter Springs. The St. Louis & San Francisco Railroad, some time afterward, was extended to Gelena from Joplin, thus giving the place the advantage of two roads, both of which
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
History of Cherokee County, Kansas1904 · page 167Read the page →
Read the text
There was a dim, old road which used to run down what is now Cooper hollow, and it went on west past where the Frisco depot now stands, in Galena; and from that point it went in a northwesterly direction to the Ryan ford on Spring River, where the Ryan bridge now stands. The part of this road running west from where the Frisco depot now stands, to a junction with what
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.
Timeline
Galena, 1876 to 1988
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
The Galena post office opened in 1877, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Galena rank for history?
Galena is more historic than 70% of U.S. towns, #44 of 151 in Kansas. 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.
What is on the National Register in Galena?
Two places: the Edgar Backus Schermerhorn House (listed 1989) and the Kansas Route 66 Historic District-East Galena (2003).
How old are the homes in Galena?
37% of Galena’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±10.1 points), against a typical 10% for a Kansas town; the median home was built in 1958.
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 (4), the Library of Congress (1), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (2), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System, Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress) 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.
2008
2008
2008
2004
