Galena–Chicago trail
The Galena–Chicago trail was a stagecoach route located in northern Illinois that ran from the mid-to-late 1830s until 1854. As indicated by its name, the route linked Chicago, located in the northeast of the state, with Galena which was located in the lead mining district of the northwest. The Chicago-Galena trail includes the "Stagecoach Trail" that runs between Galena and Lena, Illinois. East of Lena the stage route follows U.S. Route 20 and Business U.S. Route 20 through Eleroy, Freeport and Rockford to Belvidere. This road began as the old State Road number 2 established on 15 January 1836 and laid out by June 1837.
Early inns were log structures similar to the houses in the area. They were soon replaced by wood frame, brick or stone buildings with better accommodations. Several historic stone stagecoach inns remain along the trail in Jo Daviess and Stephenson Counties. These include the Old Stone Hotel (1851) now the Warren Community Building; the Thomas S. French house, a residence southeast of Waddams Grove; Dodd's Inn (1848) a residence on Lena Street in Lena; the Stage Inn east of Eleroy; and Tisdel Inn (1852) a residence west of Freeport.