The Old Market House

In the 1830s and 1840s, Galena experienced explosive growth driven by the lead-mining boom. The town's population swelled from a few hundred to nearly 15,000, making it temporarily larger than Chicago. The rapid influx of people created an urgent need for foodstuffs—fresh produce, meat, dairy products, and other goods that local farmers could provide.

A plan for a public market house was first proposed in 1838, when the city purchased four city blocks from the federal government. The lots were part of the United States Lead Mine District, and the sale proceeds were designated for public buildings and wharves. In 1845, the city sold $5 shares of stock to raise the $2,500 needed for construction.

Galena city alderman Thomas Blish designed the market house in the Greek Revival style popular at the time. The building dominated Market Square, which was raised nine feet before construction began. Builder H.J. Stouffer constructed the two-and-a-half-story brick building with a frame cupola, one-story wings with covered porticoes, and architectural details that demonstrated Galena's growing sophistication.

The market house opened for business and quickly became the center of commercial activity in Galena. Farmers from the surrounding countryside brought their goods to sell in the covered market areas. The bustle of commerce filled the building daily, with buyers and sellers negotiating amid the smells of fresh produce and livestock.

Beyond its commercial function, the Old Market House served as Galena's city hall. The second floor housed the city council chamber, where the town's leaders debated and decided policy for one of Illinois' most important cities. The city surveyor's office was also located here, reflecting the constant need to survey and document the rapidly developing town.

But it was the basement that would become notorious. Two jail cells were built into the lower level of the building, intended to hold those arrested for minor crimes—public drunkenness, disturbing the peace, petty theft—until they could be brought before a judge. The cells were secure but basic, designed for short-term holding rather than long incarceration.

The basement's location below street level would prove catastrophic. Galena sits in a valley along the Galena River, a waterway that periodically floods with devastating effect. The river had flooded before, and it would flood again. In the cramped basement cells of the Old Market House, prisoners had no way to escape rising waters—and if no guard was on duty, no one would know to release them.

The exact date of Mary Miller's death is lost to history, but the circumstances have been passed down through generations of Galena residents, becoming one of the town's most persistent ghost stories.

Mary Miller—sometimes called Maryann Miller in local legend—was arrested for public intoxication and placed in one of the basement cells. According to some accounts, she was known around town as 'the town drunk,' a woman whose struggles with alcohol brought her into repeated contact with law enforcement. On this particular night, she was locked in a cell to sleep off her condition, expected to be released the next morning.

But that night, rain began to fall. And fall. A freak rainstorm sent water rushing through Galena's streets and into its low-lying areas. The Galena River rose rapidly, flooding the downtown area. Water began seeping into the basement of the Old Market House, then flowing, then rushing in.

There was no guard on duty overnight. No one heard Mary's screams as the water rose around her. No one came to unlock the cell as the cold river water climbed past her ankles, her knees, her waist. Mary Miller drowned in a locked jail cell, a victim of weather, circumstance, and bureaucratic neglect.

Whether her body was discovered the next morning or when the floodwaters receded is unclear. What is clear is that Mary's death left a mark on the Old Market House that has never faded. Her spirit, it seems, remains trapped in the place where she died—still crying, still screaming, still trying to escape the water that took her life.

The Old Market House served Galena for sixty-five years before changing tastes and economic conditions ended its commercial purpose around 1910. Citizens began shopping at local grocery stores, and the market stalls went out of business. Floods—the very phenomenon that had killed Mary Miller—accelerated the building's deterioration.

In 1938, the city council and fire department moved to new quarters, leaving the Market House vacant. The historic structure might have been demolished if not for intervention. In 1947, the building was transferred to the State of Illinois. Following restoration in 1954-55, the Old Market House reopened as a state historic site. In 1973, it was added to the National Register of Historic Places.

Today, the Old Market House serves as the Galena Welcome Center, providing information to the thousands of tourists who visit this well-preserved historic town each year. The building has been beautifully maintained, its Greek Revival architecture a proud landmark in Market Square. But the basement remains a place of unease—and the ghost of Mary Miller remains in residence.

The most commonly reported phenomenon at the Old Market House is the sound of a woman crying or screaming from the basement. These sounds are heard by employees, visitors, and ghost tour groups, often when the basement is verified to be empty.

The cries range from quiet sobbing to desperate screams, as if someone is in mortal distress. Some witnesses describe hearing splashing sounds accompanying the cries, as if someone is thrashing in water. Others report hearing a woman's voice calling for help, the words indistinct but the desperation unmistakable.

These sounds are heard most often at night, particularly during rainy weather. The connection to rain seems significant—storms were Mary's death sentence, and the sound of rain may trigger her spirit to relive her final moments. Employees who work late shifts have learned to avoid the building during storms, when the paranormal activity intensifies.

Employees at the Old Market House refuse to enter the basement after dark. Those who have ventured down report an overwhelming sense of dread, as if something terrible is about to happen. Cold spots appear without explanation, sudden drops in temperature that seem to move through the space. Some describe feeling hands grabbing at their ankles or arms, as if someone is trying to pull them back or hold them in place.

The atmosphere in the basement has been described as heavy, oppressive, and sad. Visitors with any sensitivity to paranormal phenomena report feeling Mary's presence immediately upon descending the stairs. Some feel her desperation and fear so intensely that they cannot remain in the space.

Odd sounds arise from the basement even during the day—creaking, groaning, and the occasional thump or splash that has no natural explanation. The building's macabre past seems to seep up from below, a constant reminder that history isn't always pleasant.

The lower-level women's bathroom at the Old Market House is particularly active with paranormal phenomena. Locked stall doors refuse to stay closed, swinging open on their own as if someone is trying to escape. Women report feeling watched while using the facilities, sensing a presence in the room even when they're verified to be alone.

Lights in the bathroom flicker frequently, sometimes turning off entirely before switching back on. Cold spells descend without warning, concentrated in areas that seem to move around the space. Some women refuse to enter the bathroom alone, while others avoid it entirely.

The bathroom's activity may be connected to Mary's desperate attempts to escape her cell as the water rose. The swinging doors, the sense of being trapped, the desperate energy—all seem to echo the final moments of a woman trying to survive. The bathroom becomes a kind of reliving space for Mary's trauma, her spirit reenacting her futile attempts to escape.

While auditory phenomena are the most common at the Old Market House, visual manifestations have also been reported. Shadow figures have been seen in the basement, dark shapes that move against walls or seem to peek around corners. Some witnesses describe seeing a woman's figure in period clothing, there one moment and gone the next.

One particularly striking account describes seeing a woman's face in the water of a flooded area of the basement—though this may be more legend than documented experience. More commonly, visitors report seeing movement in their peripheral vision, shapes that disappear when they turn to look directly.

Photographs taken in the Old Market House sometimes show anomalies—orbs, mists, and unexplained light patterns that weren't visible to the naked eye. Whether these represent Mary's spirit or something else entirely is debated, but they add to the body of evidence suggesting paranormal activity in the building.