Galena Warnings and Dangers

1 more image

I did not know where else to put this interesting information about the solution to the floods in Galena.

While in Galena, we took a tour and were most interested in the big Green flood gates.

To look at the Galena River as it is today, it seemed unlikely to us that it would be the cause of flooding. Yet, we were told that Galena had created a levy and changed the way the river was used as well as adding the flood gates. Why? Because of all the many floods they had experienced through the years. In 1937 a town committee prepared a report to the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers urging support to build a levy.

You have to know a little history to understand. Most of the people in the early days arrived at Galena by keel boats and steamboats. At that time, the Galena River was navigable for all Mississippi River steamers, even at low tide. Later, Galena became the most important steam port on the Mississippi between Rock Island & St. Paul. Once the farmers began to plow the uplands, there was a continual problem with silt and the river had to be dredged. In 1890 a lock and dam near the mouth of the Galena River was built to maintain a navigable stage up the stream to Galena. It was not constructed correctly; thus, a dam at Aiken in Harris Slough was built. This forced the Galena river to flow up stream for two miles from its mouth, and this caused more sediment.

By 1921, the dam was abandoned and the stream bed was filled (this resulted in less rainfall,causing floods at Galena). Early floods began in 1826 and continued regularly. One of the worst was in 1937 when the highest stage ever recorded (27.67) devastated the town due to the heavy ice flow after the rains. After this horrid flood and the flood commission's plea, the levy along the Galena River was constructed, and the gates [which are still used today] were installed.

We found it quite interesting to learn this history and to know why the flood gates are needed.