Everyone I know who has visited Galena raves about what a great place it is. Well, all I knew about Galena was Ulysses S. Grant once lived there and worked in his father’s leather store. So when I learned a Paranormal Conference was scheduled, I thought it the perfect excuse for my husband and me to find out what all the hullabaloo was about.

Just before we reached our destination, though, we came upon a beautiful antique mall in Elizabeth, Illinois. This place was a huge labyrinth of all kinds of stuff found in grandma’s attic and then some. We spent about two hours roaming around saying, “I remember this!” Of course, we left with a few bags of nostalgic treasures to add to our growing collections at home.

Despite it being the offseason, we looked forward to discovering all the things Galena has to offer, including driving in circles to find parking. We stayed at the DeSoto House Hotel located on Main Street, which seemed to be in the middle of everything. Once we found the parking garage (yay!), we couldn’t wait to check in and go exploring.

Built in 1855, the DeSoto House Hotel is the oldest operating hotel in Illinois and is rumored to be haunted. Well, I’d imagine there would be a couple of spirits lingering from when Galena was a prosperous lead mining town (we learned that at the front desk). Upon checking in, we were given keys – like actual keys that opened an actual lock. Interesting. The rooms are named for Civil War generals, U.S. presidents and influential citizens of the mid-1800s. Apparently, the Mark Twain room has a resident ghost who doesn’t like women, but I ain’t afraid of no ghost.

We started with an evening haunted bus tour that drove us around the town, showing sites of the dark side of Galena, like the one and only hanging spot that took place in the area, and ended the tour in an old miners’ quarters no bigger than a postage stamp that housed 25 men at a time. Imagine living with 24 other people in a tiny stone building with no bathroom, no living room and no elbow room the next time you’re in a slow-rising crowded elevator. Ugh!

There is a wide range of dining options along Main Street, from the basic burger joint like Durty Gurt’s to upscale fine-dining establishments. What’s missing are restaurant chains; even Starbucks isn’t allowed in the town. But that didn’t sway those coffee junkies away from the cafés tucked in between all kinds of unique stores. We went into a store that only sold socks. Another only sold pasta. Still another only sold root beer! You get the idea.

A historic trolley tour took us around Galena in the daylight so that we could see the incredible landscape of the town. We went to the top of a hill where we saw some gorgeous homes and business buildings overlooking a stream separating the tourist side from the peaceful-living side. It was explained to us that back in the day, children had to climb a ridiculous number of steps to go from their home at the top of the hill to the schools at the bottom. How about dragging textbooks home in heavy snow, quite literally uphill? Poor kids.

The pinnacle of our trip was touring the U.S. Grant Home. Ulysses S. Grant was the only one of nine generals from Galena who served in the Civil War to be gifted a modest, fully furnished home by the town upon his return in 1865. Ninety percent of the items are original to the house, including Julia Grant’s Bible given to her by Ulysses. How cool is that? After Julia’s death, their son donated the house back to Galena for visitors to enjoy, ensuring Grant’s time in this lovely town is not taken for Grant-ed.

Galena on our first trip was a pleasant surprise. It is an inviting, cozy town, rich in history and entertainment. It’s a true get-away-from-it-all kind of weekend that can be repeatedly experienced, with every trip feeling like the first.

— JoAnne Feddeler, guest blogger