[3] Although the railroad was built through the territory of Galena in 1871, the community did not start until the discovery of lead there in the spring of 1877.

[5] The city was originally platted by the Galena Mining and Smelting Company and was to be known as Cornwall.

It would form the basis for the Spencer Chemical Company's fortune which would eventually be funneled into numerous philanthropies throughout Missouri and Kansas.

The Spencer family had been in the area because of their ownership of the Pittsburg & Midway Coal Company mining operation.

In 1983 as a result of historic practices involved in the mining and smelting of toxic metals, including the deposition of lead, zinc, antimony and cadmium, the Cherokee County Superfund site was listed on the EPA's National Priorities List (NPL).

The site consists of approximately 115 square miles, divided into seven subsites including Galena.

The Cherokee County site encompasses the Kansas portion of the Tri-State district, the latter including Northeastern Oklahoma and Southwestern Missouri.

Acidic waters in mine shafts throughout the site, chat piles, tailings impoundments, and surface waters both in mine pits and streams draining the site contain substantial concentrations of these toxic wastes.

The gender makeup of the city was 49.3% male and 50.7% female.The community is served by Galena USD 499 public school district.

The court rejected the district's decision making and requires students of different backgrounds be taught together.