OLDEST -- Operating Hotel in Illinois - Galena, Illinois - Superlatives on Waymarking.com

Illinois’ oldest operating hotel, 55 Victorian-style guest rooms; enclosed guest parking. Three restaurants; meeting, banquet, wedding facilities; self-guided historic walking tour; ‘Quiet Room’ to sit and enjoy the historic video.

The DeSoto House encompasses a four-story atrium for Courtyard dining serving breakfast, lunch and private banquets as well as the Generals’ Restaurant named in honor of Galena’s nine Civil War Generals which offers a lounge and dining rooms amidst the atmosphere of the original brick walls and beamed ceilings. Green Street Tavern, the third dining area, in its 1883 location is the perfect place to sit and watch Main Street.

The DeSoto House began its years as the center of Galena’s social and political activities. The most notable visitor was President Abraham Lincoln, who spoke from its Main Street balcony on July 23, 1856, in support of John Fremont’s bid for the presidency. Just two years later, on July 25, 1858 Senator Stephen A. Douglas spoke from the same balcony. On September 13, 1860, a crowd of over 15,000 rallied in front of the DeSoto in response to a “Grand Republican Mass Meeting” in support of Lincoln’s presidential bid. Ulysses S. Grant’s return to his hometown of Galena following the Civil War, brought 25,000 citizens to the streets to welcome him home. Bands, parades, and cannon salutes preceded a reception ball for 2,000 persons which was held at the DeSoto House. Grant later used rooms 209 and 211 of the hotel as his presidential campaign headquarters.