Galesburg, Illinois, has made quite a name for itself since the first settlers arrived in 1836. It has witnessed the comings and goings of fifteen United States presidents, listened to Louis Satchmo Armstrong, seen the birth of an elephant and served as home of the man who brought the dandelion to America. Lifetime resident and city historian Tom Wilson captures the true spirit of the town through this charming collection of articles from his column, Tracking History. Nuances and details, from the excitement of the Lincoln-Douglas debates to the frustrations of stalemate college basketball, make Remembering Galesburg a sparkling depiction of this towns personality.

An old farmhouse overlooks the scenic Spoon River in western Illinois. It has stood there for over a hundred years, sheltering Bobby and Neoma Hanks and their children through the early years of the twentieth century until 1927, when they leave the farm. Their move to town has momentous consequences. By 1950 the family has split up and is scattered across the country from New York to California. Decades later, grandson Drew owns the farmhouse he has always loved and eagerly shares his cherished childhood memories with his younger cousin Sharon. But for Sharon, who grew up in a different place and time, memories of her own childhood home evoke very different emotions. After her mother's death, Sharon struggles to come to terms with her past and wonders whether life in the old house on the Spoon, where her mother was born, was really as idyllic as Drew remembers.

The origins of Galesburg can be traced to a group of courageous pioneers who came to this gently rolling prairie in 1837 and founded Knox College and the town. The founders were staunch abolitionists, and Galesburg became a major stop on the Underground Railroad. Farmers bought land owned by the college and reaped bountiful harvests from the virgin soil. But, Galesburg was more than just a college and farming community. In the mid- and late-19th century, two major railroads came through town: the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy (CB&Q) and the Atchison, Topeka, & Santa Fe Railroad. The CB&Q built one of the largest rail yards in the nation, and it is still expanding today. Manufacturers took advantage of Galesburg's ready transportation and able workforce, and the once-small town transformed into a successful municipality that offered good jobs and living wages. Small businesses and service companies thrived, and Main Street stores flourished. Images of America: Galesburg contains never-before-published images that show how Galesburg citizens worked, played, and worshipped from the 1880s to the 1960s.