Galva

• Name — Galva • Settlement Type — City • Nickname — City of Go • Subdivision Type — Country • Subdivision Name — United States • Subdivision Type1 — State • Subdivision Name1 — Illinois • Subdivision Type2 — County • Subdivision Name2 — Henry • Subdivision Type3 — Township • Established Title — Founded • Leader Title — Mayor • Unit Pref — Imperial • Area Total Km2 — 7.13 • Area Total Sq Mi — 2.75 • Area Land Km2 — 7.13 • Area Land Sq Mi — 2.75 • Area Water Km2 — 0.00 • Area Water Sq Mi — 0.00 • Population As Of — 2020 • Population Total — 2470 • Population Density Km2 — 346.18 • Population Density Sq Mi — 896.55 • Timezone — CST • Utc Offset — -6 • Timezone Dst — CDT • Utc Offset Dst — -5 • Elevation Ft — 833 • Postal Code Type — ZIP code • Postal Code — 61434 • Area Code — 309 • Blank Name — FIPS code • Blank Info — 17-28430 • Blank1 Name — GNIS feature ID • Blank1 Info — 2394847 • Website — http: www.galvail.gov/

Cousins William L. Wiley (1820–1900) and James Wiley (1817–1886) founded Galva in 1854. The name Galva honors the Swedish immigrants of nearby Bishop Hill and refers to Gävle, Sweden which is the town's sister city. Today around 80% of the town has Scandinavian ancestry. Galva was a railroad town. Galva was laid out along the Chicago, Burlington and Quincy Railroad (Burlington Route) with the help of Bishop Hill trustees who invested heavily in Galva. This was the first of three rail lines to locate there. This group was formed in 1852 and ran a line from Aurora, Illinois to Galesburg, Illinois. A second branch of the Burlington Route later also came through. Later the Peoria and Rock Island Railroad (Rock Island Railroad) came through Galva. Several Amtrak lines run through the town, including the California Zephyr and Southwest Chief, but none stop in Galva. A station is located 10 miles north in Kewanee for the Illinois Zephyr and Carl Sandburg, and 25 miles south in Galesburg for all trains.

According to the 2021 census gazetteer files, Galva has a total area of 2.76 sqmi, all land.

As of the 2020 census, Galva had a population of 2,470. The population density was 896.55 PD/sqmi. There were 1,099 households and 683 families residing in the city. The median age was 42.7 years. 22.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 21.3% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 95.3 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.4 males age 18 and over. 0.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 100.0% lived in rural areas. Of the 1,099 households, 25.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 42.7% were married-couple households, 20.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 27.7% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 36.9% of all households were made up of individuals, and 18.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.95 and the average family size was 2.21. There were 1,254 housing units at an average density of 455.17 /sqmi. Of the housing units, 12.4% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 3.3% and the rental vacancy rate was 16.6%. Racial composition as of the 2020 census • Race — Number — Percent • White — 2,306 — 93.4% • Black or African American — 23 — 0.9% • American Indian and Alaska Native — 3 — 0.1% • Asian — 5 — 0.2% • Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander — 0 — 0.0% • Some other race — 9 — 0.4% • Two or more races — 124 — 5.0% • Hispanic or Latino (of any race) — 72 — 2.9%

The median income for a household in the city was $44,191, and the median income for a family was $65,913. Males had a median income of $44,935 versus $27,288 for females. The per capita income for the city was $25,796. About 14.3% of families and 19.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 44.3% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.

It is in the Galva Community Unit School District 224. Black Hawk College, a community college, has one of its campus in the town.

• Galva Arts Council • Galva American Legion Post #45

• Reuben Beals, Illinois state representative, farmer, and carpenter. • Rich Falk, professional basketball player. • Rollin Kirby, a political cartoonist and three-time winner of the Pulitzer Prize.