Galena, Washington

Galena, Washington
Galena, Washington
Ghost town
	Crowd with automobile in front of hotel, Galena, 1911.
	Galena, Washington
	Coordinates: 47°53′32″N 121°26′36″W / 47.89222°N 121.44333°W
Country	United States
State	Washington
County	Snohomish
Elevation	1,079 ft (329 m)
Time zone	UTC-8 (Pacific (PST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-7 (PDT)
Area code	360
GNIS feature ID	1519869

Galena is a ghost town in Snohomish County, Washington.^[1] Galena is located in the Cascade Mountains, northeast of the town of Index. North of Galena lies Mineral City.

History

Galena lies on a speculated route between the territory of the bəsx̌əx̌əx̌əlč band of the Skykomish people, based in modern-day Index, and the Sauk to the north.^[2]

Galena was platted in December 1891 by John N. Scott. By then, Galena was already the location of much mineral interest, and it received mail three days a week and stagecoach service twice a week.^[3]

From April 1892 to August 1894, Galena was home to the Inter-Cascade Mountaineer, a weekly mining newspaper.^[4]

Voting returns from the Galena and Monte Cristo precincts were at the center of a minor controversy during the contentious 1894 county seat election between Snohomish and Everett.^[5]

In 1894, Snohomish County appropriated $500 to improve a wagon road between Index and Galena. The road was also extended beyond Galena, up Silver Creek.^[6]

After a 1980 storm, a quarter-mile length of the ridge between Galena and Mineral City collapsed, washing out the road. The route remains impassable by vehicles.^[7]

The county road from Index to Galena was completed in 1911.^[8] In 2006, severe flooding washed Index-Galena Road out, and access to Galena was limited to a 40-mile detour which closed seasonally.^[9]

In November 2023, the Index–Galena Road reopened to traffic. The project cost $29 million, most of which came from the Federal Highway Administration; Snohomish County contributed $6.3 million and the state government contributed $1.2 million.^[10]

Geology

Galena is within the Silver Creek Mining District. The area immediately local to Galena contains silver-lead ore, with a smaller amount of chalcopyrite, which contains gold.^[11]