REAL DUBUQUE NEWS (RDN)
New Galena & U.S. Grant Museum opens today with ribbon-cutting and open house
LOCAL NEWS WIRE • November 12, 2026
The $6.5 million, 8,500-square-foot museum at 517 Bouthillier St. opens after about 18 months of construction, with a ribbon-cutting and community open house from 2 to 6 p.m.
KEY FACTS & RECORD HIGHLIGHTS
- The Galena & U.S. Grant Museum opens today, Nov. 12, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony and community open house from 2 to 6 p.m.
- The new museum is at 517 Bouthillier St. in Galena.
- The $6.5 million facility is 8,500 square feet and fully ADA accessible, next to the historic Nelson Stillman House.
- The museum relocated more than 14,000 historical artifacts to the new facility.
- The Foundation for Northwest Illinois provided a $575,000 investment to complete the final phase of construction.
- Museum Director Tessa Flak leads the museum; board member Kris Chapman showed the new artifact storage area.
- Volunteer Doug Hilgendorf was among those installing boards at the museum on Tuesday.
According to the Telegraph Herald, volunteers were putting the finishing touches on the Galena & U.S. Grant Museum on Tuesday as the museum prepared to open today after about 18 months of construction. The museum’s own announcement invites the public to a ribbon-cutting ceremony and community open house today from 2 to 6 p.m., to be among the first to explore the new museum at 517 Bouthillier St. in Galena. Museum Director Tessa Flak gave tours of the new space this week, and board member Kris Chapman showed off a new artifact storage area. The Foundation for Northwest Illinois provided a $575,000 investment to complete the $6.5 million facility, which relocated more than 14,000 historical artifacts to the new 8,500-square-foot museum next to the historic Nelson Stillman House.