Galena, Kansas - A Lead Mining Maven

Galena, Kansas

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One of the most gruesome and interesting stories of Galena’s past began when an enterprising woman by the name of Steffleback decided to profit from the many miners, prospectors and businessmen when she opened a two story bordello in the 1890s. In no time at all, the Steffleback House was the most popular place in town, as it filled with heavy-drinking miners, gamblers, and those looking for more bawdy pastimes. Steffleback grew quite wealthy over the next few years, but she was a greedy woman and the sight of the the large amounts of money carried by many of her customers was more than she could handle.

Galena Kansas Vintage Postcard

Galena, Kansas vintage postcard

One evening when a local prospector sat at a table drinking whiskey, Steffleback noticed that he paid for his drinks by pulling gold coins from a heavy leather sack tied to this belt. When the customer was drunk, she lured him into a back room, where one of her sons snuck up behind the man and split his head open with an ax.

With the numbers of transient miners passing through the area, Steffleback soon decided that eliminating these prospectors and relieving them of their money was a faster way to get rich. Over the next several years, she allegedly lured as many as thirty victims into her back room, depositing their bodies in the many mine shafts of the area.

After an argument with one of her “girls,” the woman turned Steffleback in. Tried in 1897, Steffleback never admitted her guilt, nor revealed where she had hidden her fortune. Sentenced to the State Women’s Prison in Lansing, Kansas, she died in 1909. Today, the treasure is still said to be buried somewhere in Galena. You can read the entire story of Ma Steffleback and the buried treasure HERE!

By 1904 there were over thirty mining companies in Galena.

Finally the dispute between Galena and Empire City entered the courts and after a long period of litigation, a truce was declared between the two cities, which finally began to work together in building one of the best mining camps in the world. A spirit of friendship grew between them until July 9, 1907, when Empire became a suburb of Galena. The surrender of her rights as an incorporated city to Galena was made amid great rejoicing and pieces of the old stockade were taken away as souvenirs by citizens of the old Empire and the old Galena. Empire City became a virtual ghost town and was annexed into Galena as its Fifth Ward in 1910.

In 1926, when Route 66 came through Kansas, Galena, like other small towns along the Mother Road, responded with services to the many travelers, bringing with it a additional prosperity to thriving town. However, just a few years later, in the 1930s, terrible labor strikes between the miners and the mining companies would result in hundreds of unemployed miners and bloodshed along Route 66. Soon, the rich lead and zinc ores began to diminish, taking Galena with it.

Though mining continued in the area until the 1970s, it was never the same. The mines were eventually exhausted and the population dwindled to less than a tenth of its former glory. On the outskirts of town you will see the blighted land left from the years of mining. Still, there is a strange beauty to be seen in some of the land’s devastation.

Today, Galena still provides vintage examples of the Mother Road, as well as architecture from the booming cattle and mining days of this historic city. If you're traveling Route 66, keep your eyes wide open because the next small town on the Kansas Mother Road is just some three miles down the road. Enjoy the ride as you head to Riverton, Kansas.

Galena is four miles north of the Oklahoma border and immediately west of the Missouri state line.

SITES AND ATTRACTIONS

Kathy Weiser, October, 2007

This image available for photographic prints and downloads HERE!

4 Women on the Route - An old KanOtex Service Station that has been converted to a Route 66 snack and gift shop is shining and new today. Here, you can also meet "Tater," a a 1951 International boom truck that was the inspiration for "Tow Mater" in the movie Cars. 119 North Main Street, Galena, Kansas, 620-783-1366.

Big Brutus - One of the most unique day trips in Southeast Kansas is to Big Brutus, 11,000,000 pounds of fun! Big Brutus is the world's second largest electric mining shovel. Walk through its cavernous body, sit in the operators. Museum and RV Park. West Mineral, Kansas. Six Miles West of Junctions K7 & K102, then 1/4 Mile South.

Howard Litch Historical and Mining Museum - Inside this old KATY depot you'll see incredible black and white photos and mining artifacts that tell the story of the oldest mining town in southeast Kansas. Free, donations appreciated. 319 West Seventh, Galena, Kansas, 316-783-2192.

Also See:

A Murderous Tale of Scandal & Treasure in Galena, Kansas

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Kathy Weiser, October, 2007

This image available for photographic prints

and downloads HERE!

You can see many great murals in Galena, Kansas

along Route 66, Kathy Weiser, June, 2004.

Kathy Weiser, October, 2007

This image available for photographic prints and

downloads HERE!

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About Kansas 66

From the Rocky Mountain General Store

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