Introduction The oldest city in northern Illinois, Galena was more populous than Chicago at one time and has the infrastructure for a city three times its current population. It has a compact center of well-preserved 19th-century commercial buildings tucked into a narrow river valley; terraces race up the steep hillsides north and west of downtown, [...]
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Eccentric Antiques, Nuns, and Rock Climbing
I’m starting to lose track of the number of historic houses I have toured–Deere-Wiman, Mathias Ham, Dowling, Villa Louis, Davenport House, Grant House(s)–each outstanding in some way, even if subtle. Nothing is subtle about the Belvedere Mansion in Galena, Illinois, however. Built in 1857 by a future ambassador to Belgium, Russell Jones, the Italianate house [...]
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