Friday July 16th.
The History of It
Drove through Thompson, Illinois, today on Il-84, a very pretty little town which is about to get some notoriety because the government is thinking about sending the Guantanamo prisoners there.
Clinton and Dubugue, Iowa, are river towns that at one time had lots of maritime trade. The same with Savanna, Illinois (no "H" in it).
At one time, Galena, Illinois, was a larger city than Chicago and bustling with shipping and steam boats. But the lead (called Galena Lead) played out and the river silted in to about a quarter of its original size and depth (because of the denuding of surrounding hillsides as men looked for the lead).
Time essentially then sidestepped Galena, leaving us with a town frozen in time back in the 1830s and 1840s. No urban renewal or altering was done.
Galena languished as such until the 1960s when it was "discovered" and today is a major tourist destination.
Lots of History in Them Thar Hills. --Cooter
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