Galesburg was founded by George Washington Gale, a Presbyterian minister from New York state who had formulated the concept of the manual labor college and first implemented it at the Oneida Institute near Utica, New York. In 1836 Gale publicized a subscription- and land purchase-based plan to found manual labor colleges in the Mississippi River valley.[6] Land was purchased for this purpose in Knox County and in 1837 the first subscribers to the college-founding plan arrived and began to settle what would become Galesburg.[7]
Throughout much of its history, Galesburg has been inextricably tied to the railroad industry. Local businessmen were major backers of the first railroad to connect Illinois's then two biggest cities—Chicago and Quincy—as well as a third leg initially terminating across the Mississippi River from Burlington, Iowa, eventually connecting to it via bridge and thence onward to the Western frontier. The Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (CB&Q) sited major rail sorting yards here, including the first to use hump sorting. The CB&Q also built a major depot on South Seminary Street that was controversially torn down and replaced by a much smaller station in 1983. The yard is still used by the BNSF Railway.
A BNSF train passes through central Galesburg near the site of the former Santa Fe depot.
In the late 19th century, when the Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Railway connected its service through to Chicago, it also laid track through Galesburg and built its own railroad depot. The depot remained in operation until the construction of the Cameron Connector southwest of town[9] enabled Amtrak to reroute the Southwest Chief via the Mendota Subdivision and join the California Zephyr and Illinois Zephyr at the Burlington Northern depot. A series of mergers eventually united both lines under the ownership of BNSF Railway, carrying an average of seven freight trains per hour between them. With the closure of the Maytag plant in 2004, BNSF is once again the largest private employer in Galesburg.
Galesburg was home to the pioneering brass era automobile company Western, which produced the Gale, named for the town.[10]
Baseball Hall of Fame members Grover Cleveland Alexander (1909) and Sam Rice (1912) played for Galesburg. Rice had to leave the Galseburg team in 1912, when his wife, two children, his parents and two sisters were killed in a tornado. Galesburg teams played at Illinois Field (1908–1912, 1914), Lombard College Field (1908–1912, 1914) and Willard Field at Knox College (1890, 1895).[11][12][13][14]
Lombard College was in Galesburg until 1930, and is now the site of Lombard Middle School.
The Carr Mansion at 560 North Prairie Street was the site of a presidential cabinet meeting held in 1899 by U.S. President William McKinley and U.S. Secretary of State John Hay.
Geography
Galesburg is in western Knox County. Interstate 74 runs through the east side of the city, leading southeast 47 miles (76 km) to Peoria and north 36 miles (58 km) to Interstate 80 near the Quad Cities area.
According to the 2010 census, Galesburg has a total area of 17.928 square miles (46.43 km2), of which 17.75 square miles (45.97 km2) (or 99.01%) are land and 0.178 square miles (0.46 km2) (or 0.99%) are water.[15]
Climate
Climate data for Galesburg, Illinois (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1896–present)
Galesburg city, Illinois – Racial and Ethnic Composition (NH = Non-Hispanic) Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
As of the census[20] of 2000, there were 33,706 people, 13,237 households, and 7,902 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,994.9 inhabitants per square mile (770.2/km2). There were 14,133 housing units at an average density of 836.5 per square mile (323.0/km2). The racial makeup of the city was 84.23% White, 10.20% African American, 0.22% Native American, 1.03% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 2.46% from other races, and 1.84% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.01% of the population. 17.4% were of German, 12.6% American, 11.5% Irish, 11.3% Swedish and 9.1% English ancestry according to Census 2000.
There were 13,237 households, of which 26.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.6% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.3% were non-families. 34.6% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.87.
The population was spread out, with 21.1% under the age of 18, 11.8% from 18 to 24, 27.0% from 25 to 44, 22.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.1% 65 or older. The median age was 38. For every 100 females, there were 100.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.1 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,987, and the median income for a family was $41,796. Males had a median income of $31,698 versus $21,388 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,214. About 10.7% of families and 14.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 23.4% of those under age 18 and 6.3% of those age 65 or over.
Festivals
Galesburg is the home of the Railroad Days festival, held on the fourth weekend of June.[21] The festival began in 1977 as an open house to the public from the then Burlington Northern. Burlington Northern gave train car tours of their yards. The city started having street fairs to draw more people to town. In 1981, the Galesburg Railroad Museum was founded and opened during Railroad Days. For a while, the city and the railroad worked together on the celebrations. In 2002, the railroad backed out of the festival and there were no yard tours. In 2003 the city worked with local groups to revamp the festival and the Galesburg Railroad Museum resumed bus tours of the yards. The Galesburg Railroad Museum has continued to provide tours of the yards since then. In 2010, the Galesburg Railroad Museum started offering a VIP tour of the yards, in which a select group of riders are allowed in the Hump Towers and Diesel Shop and see the BNSF at work. During the festival, one of the largest model railroad train shows and layouts in the U.S. Midwest happens during Railroad Days at the new Galesburg High School Fieldhouse.[21]
During Labor Day weekend in September, Galesburg hosts the Stearman Fly in.[22] Also in September are the Great Cardboard Boat Regatta and the Annual Rubber Duck Race, at Lake Storey.[23][24] On the third weekend of every August, a Civil War and pre-1840s rendezvous is held at Lake Storey Park.
Transportation
Amtrak, the national passenger rail system, provides service from Chicago on four trains daily. It operates the California Zephyr, Carl Sandburg, Illinois Zephyr, and Southwest Chief daily from Chicago Union Station to Galesburg station and points west. The Southwest Chief and the state-supported Carl Sandburg and Illinois Zephyr take passengers to Chicago or points west, while the California Zephyr discharges passengers only on its eastbound run since the other trains provide ample service.
Galesburg Transit provides bus service in the city. There are four routes: Gold Express Loop, Green Central Loop, Red West Loop, and Blue East Loop.[25]BNSF provides rail freight to Galesburg and operates a large hump yard 1.9 miles (3.1 km)[26] south of town.[27]
Galesburg is served by Interstate 74, which runs north to Moline in the Quad Cities region, and southeast to Peoria and beyond. The Chicago–Kansas City Expressway, also known as Illinois Route 110, runs through Galesburg. To the southwest it passes through Macomb, the home of Western Illinois University, and toward Quincy, before crossing into Missouri. Galesburg served is served by U.S. Routes 34 and 150. US 34 connects Galesburg to Burlington, Iowa, and Chicago. It is a freeway through its entire run in Galesburg and west to Monmouth. It connects to Galesburg through three interchanges at West Main Street, North Henderson Street, and North Seminary Street, along with an additional interchange at Interstate 74. US 150 runs through the heart of Galesburg. It enters the city as Grand Avenue from the southeast, runs through downtown as Main Street, and exits the city as North Henderson Street. Galesburg is additionally served by Illinois State Route 97, Route 41, Route 164, and Knox County highways 1, 7, 9, 10, 25, 30, 31, and 40.
Galesburg will be home to the National Railroad Hall of Fame. Efforts are underway to raise funds for the $30 million (~$42.1 million in 2022) project, which got a major boost in 2006, when Congress passed a bill to charter the establishment. It is hoped that the museum will bring tourism and a financial boost to the community. Construction of the museum began in 2019.[28]
Media
Galesburg has several radio stations and newspapers delivering a mix of local, regional and national news. WGIL-AM, WAAG, WLSR-FM and WKAY-FM are all owned by Galesburg Broadcasting while Prairie Radio Communications owns WAIK-AM. KZZ66 provides Weather Information for NOAA Weather Radio in the Galesburg area.
The Galesburg Register-Mail is the result of the merger of the Galesburg Republican-Register and the Galesburg Daily Mail in 1927. The two papers trace their roots back to the mid-19th century. A daily, it is the main newspaper of the city, and was owned by Copley Press until it was sold to Gate House Media in April 2007. The Zephyr was started in 1989, was published on Thursdays and was the only locally owned newspaper until its final edition December 9, 2010. The New Zephyr began publication in early 2013. It is published every Friday. The Knoxville Bulletin is a weekly newspaper established in May 2016. It is owned by Limestone Publishing.
Galesburg is part of the Quad Cities television market.
FM radio
90.7 WVKC "Tri States Public Radio", supported by Western Illinois University and Knox College Tri States Public Radio[29] (NPR Affiliate with HD Radio subchannels)
According to legend, the four Marx Brothers (Groucho, Chico, Harpo, and Gummo) first received their nicknames at Galesburg's Gaity Theatre in 1914. Nicknames ending in -o were popular in the early 20th century, and a fellow vaudevillian, Art Fisher, supposedly bestowed them upon the brothers during a poker game there. Zeppo Marx received his nickname later.[31]
Barack Obama mentioned Galesburg during his keynote address at the 2004 Democratic National Convention and near the beginning of his 2010 State of the Union Address.[32] Obama also visited Galesburg High School in 2011 to speak to students while in the area for a Midwestern bus tour.[33]
Baseball legend Jimmie Foxx lived out some of his last years as a greeter at a steakhouse in Galesburg. Foxx left just before his death in 1967.[34]
Galesburg is the birthplace of artist Stephen Prina, whose recent publication Galesburg, Illinois+ documents an exhibition that portrays the town indirectly through various media.[37]
The first stage of the NES game Ninja Gaiden is in Galesburg, depicted as more like New York City.
^"Station: Galesburg, IL". U.S. Climate Normals 2020: U.S. Monthly Climate Normals (1991-2020). National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved July 21, 2021.
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