Galva is a city in southern Henry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 2,470 at the 2020 census.

History

Cousins William L. Wiley (1820–1900) and James Wiley (1817–1886) founded Galva in 1854. The name Galva honors the Swedish immigrants of nearby Bishop Hill and refers to Gävle, Sweden which is the town's sister city. Today around 80% of the town has Scandinavian ancestry.

Galva was a railroad town. Galva was laid out along the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (Burlington Route) with the help of Bishop Hill trustees who invested heavily in Galva. This was the first of three rail lines to locate there. This group was formed in 1852 and ran a line from Aurora, Illinois to Galesburg, Illinois. A second branch of the Burlington Route later also came through. Later the Peoria and Rock Island Railroad (Rock Island Railroad) came through Galva. Several Amtrak lines run through the town, including the California Zephyr and Southwest Chief, but none stop in Galva. A station is located 10 miles north in Kewanee for the Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, and 25 miles south in Galesburg for all trains.

Geography

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Galva has a total area of , all land.

Climate

Demographics

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, Galva had a population of 2,470. The population density was . There were 1,099 households and 683 families residing in the city.

The median age was 42.7 years. 22.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.4 males age 18 and over.

Of the 1,099 households, 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 42.7% were married-couple households, 20.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 36.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 2.21.

Black Hawk College, a community college, has one of its campus in the town.

Community organizations

  • Galva Arts Council
  • Galva American Legion Post #45

Notable people

  • Reuben Beals, Illinois state representative, farmer, and carpenter.
  • Rich Falk, professional basketball player.
  • Rollin Kirby, a political cartoonist and three-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize.

References

  • City of Galva official website
  • MinaVykort.com - Old Postcards from Galva