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History · Galien

Galien’s post office opened in 1856, and 28% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: 1 old photo or paper, maps from 1983 on, and the census since 1880.

1856first post office
0on the National Register
28%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
1famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Galien’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Galien began

When was Galien founded?

1856

The Galien post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name.

First census: 413 in 18802020 census: 513170 years
Founding year: the first Galien post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Galien’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 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 750 in 1960; 513 people lived here in 2020.Old housesHalf of Galien’s homes were built before 1961.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Galien’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewLake Cities passing through Galien, Apr…: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Galien, census by census

020040060080018801900192019401960198020002020Peak: 750

Peaked at 750 in 1960; 513 people lived here in 2020.

15 censuses, 1880–2020.

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

The story

How Galien came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Galien.

Read it all →

The founder of the village of Galien was George A. Blakeslee. Born in Pennsylvania, he came to Galien Township in 1853. He platted Galien village in 1861, and it was incorporated in 1879. The village straddled a fairly new Michigan Central Railroad completed in 1849 from New Buffalo to Detroit. Blakeslee operated a sawmill at the site of present-day Galien, and established a general store. He purchased several thousand acres in the vicinity of the village and harvested the timber for his sawmill operation. For many years after Galien was established, he was president of the village, postmaster, justice of the peace, member of the school board and later World Bishop of the Latter Day Saint's Church. Blakeslee Street was named after him and is located in the SE quadrant of the city plat.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Galien, 1867 to 1987

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1867Born hereGeorgia Emery is born here
  3. 20th century
  4. 1960CensusPopulation peaks at 750
  5. 1983On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1987In the archiveLake Cities passing through Galien, April 1987
By decade

Galien, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1980s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1980s1 item
Lake Cities passing through Galien, April 19871987Lake Cities passing through Galien, April 1987
1990snothing yet
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.
Add from your album
Today1 recent
Galien Missionary Service2010Galien Missionary Service
On the map

Galien on the map in 1983

The U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Galien.

Galien on the 1983 USGS map1983South Bend sheet · 1:100,000

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

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.

Lake Cities passing through Galien, April 1987
Retake this viewLake Cities passing through Galien, April 1987, 1987

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

Retake this view · +15

Questions about Galien’s history

What year was Galien founded?

The Galien post office opened in 1856, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

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), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.