Palmer — The Lead Region of Illinois. 211 



means of transjDortation and the rivers were the great highways 

 of commerce. This gave Galena enormous importance as the 

 head of navigation and the distributing point for the whole lead 

 region. ^ 



Owing to the ease of communication by way of the river, 

 the county was at first filled with a population largely southern 

 in character. Many of these men brought their slaves with 

 them to their new homes.^ Later a j^ew England element 

 came in, and the conflict in ideas of these two classes furnishes 

 an interesting study. A class of people of great importance 

 were the Cornish miners who settled in the region and left their 

 impress on the character of the whole population. 



The time of greatest prosperity in the lead region was from 

 1S35 to 1815. Money was plentiful, settlers were pouring in 

 from the East, and all signs seemed to indicate that this section 

 was to be the most important and influential one in the West. 

 In common with other cities of the iSTew West, Galena felt that 

 her prosperity depended upon having a railroad. Public meet- 

 ings were held, money subscribed, and on ^ov. 8, 1854, the first 

 train on the new road ran into Galena.^ 



Lead mining reached its height about the year 1845. After 

 that date no new discoveries of any importance were made. 

 The lack of effective machinery to work the lower levels, and 

 the opening of the new California gold mines, drew from Jo 

 Daviess County that class of eoiterprising adventurous men who 

 had done so much to develop the country. The building of rail- 

 ways into the territory formerly supplied by Galena, decreased 

 the importance of the city as a distributing center. The county 

 was compelled to fall back upon agriculture for its prosperity. 

 The thickly populated mining areas either decreased in popula- 

 tion, or were deserted altogether. Cheap land in the new West 

 led many of the vigorous young men to seek their fortunes there, 

 and Jo Daviess County began to experience a decline in popula- 

 tion and wealth from which it has never recovered. 



In a report on the geology of the lead region written in 1860, 

 Prof. J. D. Whitney says : "The lead bearing district of lUi- 



1 As many as fourteen steamboats were tied to wharves at one time. Northwestern 

 Gazette and Galena Advertiser, Aug. 8, 1845. 



2 County Records : Deeds, Record A., p. 120, gives a bill of sale of a negro girl and child. 

 ' Northwestern Gazette and Galena Advertiser, Nov. 9, 1854. 



