DeSoto House Hotel

The oldest operating hotel in Illinois, built in 1855 as the center of Galena's political and social activities. Abraham Lincoln spoke from its Main Street balcony in 1856, and Stephen Douglas spoke from the same balcony in 1858. Famous guests have included Ulysses S. Grant.

The DeSoto House Hotel at Main Street in Galena opened on April 9, 1855, as the "Largest Hotel in the West." Built by the Galena Hotel Company, including J.R. Grant (father of future President Ulysses S. Grant), the hotel served travelers arriving in the flourishing mining and trade center. It is now the oldest operating hotel in Illinois and sits in what many call the most haunted small town in the Midwest.

President Abraham Lincoln spoke from the Main Street balcony in 1856, supporting John Fremont's presidential bid. Senator Stephen Douglas addressed crowds from the same balcony in 1858. After the Civil War, General Ulysses S. Grant returned to a crowd of 25,000 and a grand ball in his honor. He later used rooms 209 and 211 as his presidential campaign headquarters in 1868 and received guests there with his wife Julia multiple times through 1883.

Misfortune struck repeatedly: a fire in June 1859 damaged 12 rooms on each floor, and a boiler explosion in December 1869 devastated the building. The hotel closed in 1870 but eventually reopened and has operated continuously since.

Ghost stories at the DeSoto House date back over 100 years. The most documented spirit is "The Lady in Black," seen descending a staircase and walking directly into a wall. Sightings were recorded in local newspapers as early as the late 1800s. A woman in a black period dress has been witnessed by countless guests over the decades.

In 2011, flooding destroyed drywall in the hotel's lower level. When workers removed the damaged material, they discovered a brick wall with a doorway opening in the exact spot where The Lady in Black was said to disappear. The doorway is now preserved behind Plexiglass for visitors to see.

A desk clerk described seeing a bright ball of light zoom past while working the third floor late at night. Multiple guests in the same room have reported feeling someone sit on the edge of their bed. Others hear footsteps and noises from above while on the third floor—despite there being no additional floors above. The hotel embraces its supernatural heritage as part of Galena's thriving ghost tour industry.