GALENA, Ill. — November 13, 2026 — Galena’s history has a new home. The Galena and U.S. Grant History Museum held a ribbon-cutting ceremony and community open house on Thursday, November 12, 2026, opening the doors of its new building to the public for the first time.

The open house ran from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. on November 12, 2026, giving visitors a first look at the new facility and its exhibits. The museum announced the event on October 29, 2026, and held a private preview for board members, staff, volunteers, and supporters the night before the public opening.

The new museum is an 8,500-square-foot building at 517 Bouthillier Street, next to the historic Nelson Stillman House and near the Ulysses S. Grant Home. The $6.5 million facility is fully accessible under the Americans with Disabilities Act, a change from the museum’s longtime home in the 1858 Barrows House at 211 South Bench Street.

The move brings more than 14,000 historical artifacts into a modern space with professional-grade interactive exhibits and a dedicated archival room. The collection covers Galena’s lead-mining and steamboating past, the Civil War, and Ulysses S. Grant, Galena’s most famous resident. The museum’s holdings include the “Peace in Union” and “General Grant on the Battlefield” paintings and a flag from the Siege of Vicksburg.

The final phase of construction was secured in May 2026 with a $575,000 investment from the Foundation for Northwest Illinois, which closed the last funding gap in the relocation project. The investment covered the delicate move of the artifacts, the installation of the exhibits, and the build-out of the archival room.

The Galena-Jo Daviess County Historical Society, which operates the museum, was founded in 1858, the same year as the Barrows House it is leaving. The society’s new building is listed as open seven days a week, year-round. Regular hours and admission prices for the new location were pending at publication.

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