Galena, Illinois called Galena "La Pointe" and early Americans adopted this name as "The Point". Early documentation officially records the name as "Fever River", an early name for the Galena River, though it does not appear that this name was commonly used. George Davenport, a retired colonel in the United States Army, successfully shipped Galena's first boatload of lead ore down the Mississippi River in 1816. Three years later, Jesse W. Shull built a trading post. The Thomas H. January family, who arrived in 1821 from Maysville, Kentucky, are considered the first permanent American settlers. The next year, the US Department of
Galena, Alaska in the few last remaining dry parts of town. The flood dike the Air Force built around the runway managed to keep the river from inundating the runway and GILA. Efforts are currently underway to help Galena rebuild, with the assistance of the Federal Emergency Management Agency and volunteer groups. Galena is located at (64.740643, -156.885462). Galena is located on the north bank of the Yukon River, east of Nulato. The Innoko National Wildlife Refuge is southwest of Galena. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land