10 Reasons to Visit Galena

Main Street

Take a break from present day and step back in time with a stroll down Galena’s historic Main Street. You’ll pass nearly 100 19th century storefronts housing boutique shops, fine dining, and galleries. You’ll also discover historic gems like DeSoto House Hotel, Illinois’ oldest operating hotel, whose guests have included Presidents Lincoln and Grant. Spend an afternoon there and you’ll see why it was named Best Main Street in the Midwest by Midwest Living magazine and one of America’s Best Main Streets by Fodor’s.

Blaum Bros. Distilling Co

After getting a taste of history on Main Street, get a taste of whiskey at Blaum Bros. Distilling Co. Founded in 2013, Blaum Bros. has quickly established itself as a popular tourist attraction, due in no small part to its fascinating distillery tour—not to mention the quality of the product on offer.

Whether you’re a whiskey enthusiast or just curious, the tour delivers. You’ll be taken through the full process: an introduction to the locally-sourced grains that give the whiskey its unique quality, a jaunt through the distillation area where the magic happens, a journey though the barrel room where the whiskey reaches its full potential, and finally, the true highlight, the tasting room, bedecked in a comfortable mancave-style by the Blaum Bros themselves.

Even though the distillery is just a few years old, the small-batch process, attention-to-detail and locally-sourced ingredients makes it a salute to the way things have been done in Illinois for nearly two centuries.

(And great news for anyone out there named Gus: by virtue of your name alone, you get a free tour. Why? You’ll have to ask the Blaum Bros!)

Ulysses S. Grant Home State Historic Site

Four Presidents of the United States have called Illinois home. In Galena, you’ll find the house of one of them: Ulysses. S. Grant.

Grant lived in Galena at the outbreak of the Civil War and was the town’s most experienced resident when it came to military matters. It was from there he took the first steps towards the Civil War legend he would become.

Upon returning to Galena some four years later, the people of the town presented him with a house as a token of appreciation for his service. It was, as his wife described, “a lovely villa exquisitely furnished with everything good taste could desire.”

More than 150 years later, that description remains true, with the original furniture and décor that once belonged to the Grant family. Now, however, it’s home to no one—only the memory of Grant. But that allows people from all corners of the globe to visit and learn of Grant’s legacy, and to get a glimpse of post-Civil War life in Illinois.

The Old Blacksmith Shop

The blacksmith profession isn’t what it once was, lost to time and automation. But in Galena, you still have the chance to learn what a blacksmith shop meant to communities across the United States.

The Old Blacksmith Shop dates all the way back to 1897. Although it serves primarily as a museum today, it’s still an authentic blacksmith shop complete with working forges, original equipment, and tools. It offers tours and live demonstrations by expert blacksmiths which allows you to learn the history of Galena and the role The Old Blacksmith Shop played to in the town. And in the gift shop, you can choose from a wide selection of items made right there in the shop—the perfect souvenir of Illinois’ past!

Dowling House

One of the delights of exploring Galena is that you get true glimpses of what everyday life in Illinois once was. It’s not just the occasional grand building or civil monument—it’s a full immersive experience. On any street you might just feel like you’re back 150 years or more—well, if you squint a bit, anyway.

Dowling House, Galena’s oldest house, is a beautiful example of this. It was built in 1826-1827 by John Dowling, a prominent early resident, and doubled as a home (upstairs) and a trading post (downstairs). Through its history it’s seen varying levels of use, but since the 1970s, it’s served as a wonderful time capsule of Illinois life from nearly 200 years ago.

Today, tour guides will provide you with a complete history of the home, as well as its role in the development of Galena.