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History · Galena

Galena dates to 1763, and 22% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register, among them a historic district with 2 buildings. Below: 2 old photos and papers, maps from 1900 on, and the census since 1880.

1763founded
1on the National Register
22%homes built before 1940
2old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Galena’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Galena began

When was Galena founded?

1763

Galena dates its founding to 1763 (Wikipedia’s history). The census first counted it in 1880.

First census: 347 in 18802020 census: 539263 years
Founding year: Wikipedia. First post office: 1788.The full story ↓

What stands out about Galena’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 2 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19003 editions of the USGS map, 1900 to 1953. Watch Galena change.Older than the countryEstablished in 1763, 13 years before the Declaration of Independence.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Galena’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Galena’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo2 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewFrame Cottage, U.S. Route 213: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Galena on the map, 1900 to 1953

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Galena. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Galena on the 1900 USGS mapGalena on the 1944 USGS mapGalena on the 1953 USGS map1900Cecilton sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Galena.

Timeline

Galena, 1763 to 1900

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 18th century
  2. 1763
    FoundingGalena is established
  3. 1788Post officeThe Georgetown Cross Roads post office opens
  4. 19th century
  5. 1858Post officeThe Georgetown Cross Roads post office closes
  6. 1858Post officeThe Galena post office opens
  7. 20th century
  8. 1900On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
The story

How Galena came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Galena.

Read it all →

Galena was founded in 1763 under the name Down's Cross Roads, after William Downs, a local tavern owner. The name was later changed to Georgetown Cross Roads sometime before 1813, and finally to Galena in 1858. The name comes from a supposed silver mine in the vicinity of the town, which extracted the metal from the lead ore known as galena. There is, however, no geological evidence for galena deposits on Maryland's Eastern Shore, and the story is likely apocryphal.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Galena, decade by decade

Date unknown2 to date
Frame Cottage, U.S. Route 213Date?Frame Cottage, U.S. Route 213Stephens House, U.S. Route 213Date?Stephens House, U.S. Route 213
Today2 recent
Small town - Baltimore to Philadelphia2009Small town - Baltimore to PhiladelphiaSmall town - Baltimore to Philadelphia2009Small town - Baltimore to Philadelphia
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Frame Cottage, U.S. Route 213
Retake this viewFrame Cottage, U.S. Route 213

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Galena’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Galena

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
2
each building in a district counts
first listed
2023
St. Dennis Roman Catholic Church Complex
Districts
All 1 listings
St. Dennis Roman Catholic Church ComplexDistrict · listed 2023

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Galena, census by census

010020030040050060018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 612

Between 250 and 612 people in every census since 1880.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Galena’s Wikipedia page.

Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Galena’s post office has been open since 1858. Another post office, Georgetown Cross Roads, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Georgetown Cross Roads
1788–1858
Galena
1858–today
17801900today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Dogwood Village
2cemeteries and burying grounds inside Galena
OlivetSaint Dennis Catholic

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Questions about Galena’s history

What year was Galena founded?

In 1763, according to Wikipedia’s history of the town. Galena’s post office opened in 1788, and the census of 1880 counted 347 people here.

What is on the National Register in Galena?

One place: the St. Dennis Roman Catholic Church Complex (listed 2023).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

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). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikimedia Commons (2), the Library of Congress (2), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.