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Galena, Lander County, Nevada facts for kids

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Galena Ghost Town (19790167479)
Galena, Lander County

Galena is what people call a ghost town in Lander County, Nevada. It's located about eleven miles southwest of a town called Battle Mountain. A ghost town is a place where people used to live and work, but now almost no one lives there anymore. Galena was once a busy mining community.

The Story of Galena

Galena was started in 1869. It became a town because people found valuable minerals there. Miners came to dig for these minerals. The town was named after a special kind of ore called galena. This ore is a shiny, gray mineral that contains lead. People found a lot of this galena ore close to where the town was built.

Life in Galena was centered around mining. Miners worked hard to extract the galena ore from the ground. The town grew as more people arrived hoping to find their fortune. However, like many mining towns, Galena didn't last forever. As the valuable ore became harder to find, people started to leave. The post office in Galena, which helped people send and receive mail, was closed down in 1907. This was a sign that the town was becoming less active. Eventually, most people moved away, turning Galena into the ghost town it is today.

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