Listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
“The Olof Johnson House is a historic house located at 408 NW 4th Street in Galva, Illinois. The house was built in 1863 for Olof Johnson, one of the trustees of the Bishop Hill Colony.”
Wikipedia article Olof Johnson House, CC BY-SA 4.0.
One of 16 National Register listings published here for Henry County · listed in 1982 · category: Building.
Sources: the Wikipedia article · the case file at the National Archives · the National Register database, National Park Service
The chapter on Galva Township in History of Henry County, Illinois : It's Taxpayers and Voters; Containing Also, a Biographical Directory, a Condensed History of the State; Map of the County; a Business Directory...etc, published 1877 names Galva. This is what it says, exactly as the scans read.
Owing to the large purchases of the Swedish Colony in the new town, they were granted the privilege of being its sponsors in baptism and bestowing upon it the name which it was to bear. Olof Johnson, one of the earliest settlers, accordingly christened it G-efle, the name of a populous town in Sweden. This name was afterward corrupted or anglicised to Galva, a name new and unheard of but corresponding as nearly as possible to the Swedish name in pronunciation.
Passage source: History of Henry County, Illinois : It's Taxpayers and Voters; Containing Also, a Biographical Directory, a Condensed History of the State; Map of the County; a Business Directory...etc, published 1877.
The Winter of 1854 - 5, following the completion of the railroad, was unusually mild and open, allowing out-of-door work to go on without interruption until 21st of January, when there occurred the severest snow storm ever known in this region, accompanied by a terrific wind. This resulted in blocking up .the railroad and preventing the running of any trains for over two weeks. It was during this time, when the inhabitants of the new town were shut off from communication with the outside world, that the first child was born. Mr. and Mrs. David Emery were the happy parents, and they exclaimed : " Unto us a child is born, a girl is given, whose name shall be called Galva."
Passage source: History of Henry County, Illinois : It's Taxpayers and Voters; Containing Also, a Biographical Directory, a Condensed History of the State; Map of the County; a Business Directory...etc, published 1877.
Machine-read from a century-old scan, so expect the errors a machine makes: misspelled names, dropped words, stray characters.
Read the whole chapter on Galva Township - 13,482 words on its settlement, mills, schools and churches.
Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Galva, the town this property stands in, in 104 storm reports between 1995 and 2025: 55 hail, 31 thunderstorm wind, 8 tornado, 3 flash flood. The reports record 5 injuries. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 1996 | Tornado (F0) | Galva | 4 hurt, $10,000,000 | no account filed |
| May 2017 | Tornado (EF2) | Galva | 1 hurt, $40,000 | Tornado was rated EF-2 with peak winds of 120 mph, a path length of 1.29 miles and a max width 50 yards. Damage was to two snapped power poles, one home with significant damage to shingles. Another house had had roof completely removed and blew out doors with one minor injury at this location. |
| April 2003 | Hail | Galva | $500,000 | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | $400,000 | no account filed |
| May 2003 | Tornado (F0) | Galva | $400,000 | no account filed |
| April 2003 | Flash Flood | Galva | $250,000 | IL 17 & US 34 flooded |
| July 2003 | Hail | Galva | $100,000 | no account filed |
| November 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | $50,000 | A supercell tracked across portions of Henry county producing a swath of straight-line downburst winds as the thunderstorm moved rapidly to the northeast at 60 mph.|Tree damage was first noted at the Galva cemetery near the county line, where roughly 10 pine trees were either snapped at the base or uprooted. The largest of which was 2 feet in diameter and tossed 25 yards to the east. About a dozen of the taller headstones were toppled from their bases. Farther to the northeast, sheet metal was torn from the roof of a Tyson building, and scattered into the surrounding fields a quarter mile to the east. Off of Route 78 southeast of Kewanee, a half dozen pine trees were snapped at the trunk with surrounding tall grass matted down to the east. Farther down the road to the east a corn crib was destroyed when it shifted off it's foundation. Continuing to the east, there were roughly 40 trees in a 35 year old wind break that were snapped at the trunks. There was also hail damage noted with chipped paint on west facing walls and scarred tree trunks. Ending 3 miles east southeast of Kewanee a barn roof was mostly ripped off, scattering debris a couple hundred yards to the east. Based on the damage, winds were estimated to be between 80 to 100 mph. At some locations the damage swath was one-half mile wide in southeast Henry county, Illinois. |
| April 2003 | Hail | Galva | $50,000 | no account filed |
| April 2003 | Hail | Galva | $50,000 | no account filed |
| May 2004 | Lightning | Galva | $10,000 | Lightning strike from storms started a fire at SW 5th Ave and SW 6th St. |
| July 2003 | Hail | Galva | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Galva | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 2003 | Hail | Galva | $10,000 | no account filed |
| July 1996 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | $10,000 | no account filed |
| August 2009 | Lightning | Galva | $5,000 | Lightning struck a transformer in Galva, IL around 1214 pm August 7. A power outage was observed on the southeast side of town. |
| November 2013 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | $3,000 | Two machine shed doors were blown off and trees were blown down. |
| March 2006 | Hail | Galva | $3,000 | Quarter sized hail. |
| August 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | $500 | Many small limbs were downed with a few 4 inch diameter limbs down. A measured gust of 48 knots (55 mph) was recorded at the Civil Defense Office. |
| May 1998 | Tornado (F0) | Galva | $50 | Brief tornado downed powerlines and damaged rooftops in Galva. |
| May 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | - | A public report of a few very large tree branches down. The time of the event was estimated using radar. |
| April 2025 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | - | Emergency Manager reported a tree top blown off. The time of the event was estimated using radar. |
| April 2025 | Tornado (EF1) | Galva | - | The tornado touched down about a mile west of Victoria in Knox County Illinois (NWS Lincoln) traveling north northeast. It went through Galva where it snapped several trees, then it progressed northeast damaging more trees and an outbuilding along an approximately 7.2 miles path before dissipating about 3 miles west of Kewanee. |
| May 2024 | Hail | Galva | - | Emergency management relayed a report of lots of pea to dime size hail, with a few quarters. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | - | The Emergency Manager reported trees and power lines down. |
| July 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | - | A public report of widespread tree damage throughout Galva. There are 4 to 5 power poles down plus electrical service pulled from houses. US 34 is still blocked due to power lines too low for traffic. There are 3 known locations with tree limbs falling on houses and one has a broken window and roof damage. |
| June 2024 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | - | Grain wagons blown over by thunderstorm winds. |
| April 2023 | Hail | Galva | - | The Emergency Manager reported nickel size hail 1.5 miles southwest of Galva. |
| April 2023 | Hail | Galva | - | The time of the event was estimated using radar. |
| April 2023 | Hail | Galva | - | The Emergency Manager reported quarter size hail 1.5 miles southwest of Galva. |
| November 2022 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | - | Law Enforcement relayed a report of powerlines and poles down in Galva. The time of the event was estimated using radar. |
| April 2020 | Hail | Galva | - | City of Galva volunteer emergency management reported pea to quarter size hail. |
| July 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | - | Trees were reported blown down, along with one power line. |
| June 2020 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | - | A trained spotter reported that several trees were down. Some of the trees were 2 to 2.5 feet wide. A 4 foot wide mostly rotten tree fell with several large branches also down. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | - | The Emergency Manager reported that a tree was snapped off at the base and down owr liens near this location. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | - | Power lines were blown down in Galva. |
| June 2018 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | - | A tree limb was down over power lines. The time was estimated from radar. |
| May 2018 | Hail | Galva | - | A trained spotter reported hail up to the size of pennies. |
| February 2017 | Hail | Galva | - | Emergency management reported quarter size hail. |
| February 2017 | Hail | Galva | - | A spotter reports a mix of quarter to half dollar size hail. |
| February 2017 | Hail | Galva | - | Spotters reported dime size hail. |
| May 2017 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | - | A NWS storm survey observed numerous trees were blown over and limbs broken off in Galva. |
| July 2016 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | - | Local law enforcement reported trees were down. |
| September 2014 | Hail | Galva | - | The hail cover the ground and lasted for about 5 minutes. |
| April 2014 | Hail | Galva | - | A trained spotter reported that hail was falling for the past 10 minutes. |
| April 2013 | Hail | Galva | - | Dime to nickel sized hail fell in Galva, IL between 930 pm and 935 pm April 6. |
| May 2012 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | - | The emergency manager reported several 2 to 4 inches in diameter branches down on the northwest wide of Galva. |
| September 2012 | Hail | Galva | - | Nickel sized hail fell in Galva, IL at 423 pm CDT September 17. |
| April 2011 | Hail | Galva | - | Pea to dime sized hail fell in Galva, IL around 6 pm CDT April 15. |
| May 2011 | Hail | Galva | - | Quarter sized hail fell at the cemetery just south of Galva, IL at 705 pm CDT May 22. |
| May 2011 | Hail | Galva | - | Quarter sized hail fell at 3 miles east of Galva, IL at 708 pm CDT May 22. |
| May 2011 | Hail | Galva | - | Golf ball sized hail fell in Galva, IL at 548 pm CDT May 22. |
| August 2011 | Heavy Rain | Galva | - | Storm total rainfall since midnight. |
| April 2010 | Flash Flood | Galva | - | Heavy rains of 1 to 4 inches resulted in some flash flooding of some streets in Galva, IL during the evening of April 24. The flood waters were 6 inches deep. |
| November 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | - | A trained spotter reported several trees and power poles damaged, as well as some structural damage mainly south and southeast of Galva. Some semi-trucks were also overturned. Winds were estimated at 90 mph. |
| November 2010 | Hail | Galva | - | The emergency manager reported golf ball size hail in Galva. |
| November 2010 | Hail | Galva | - | A trained spotter estimated hail to penny size in Galva. |
| June 2010 | Hail | Galva | - | Golf ball sized hail fell in Galva, IL at 721 pm June 4. |
| June 2010 | Thunderstorm Wind | Galva | - | Wind gusts were estimated to be 60 mph in Galva, IL at 721 pm June 4. |
| June 2010 | Hail | Galva | - | Quarter-sized hail fell on the north side of Galva, IL at 855 pm June 18. |
No historic map-sheet match is published for this property yet. That does not mean no map exists. This record needs a coordinate-quality review before it can be joined to a sheet boundary. Browse the county's mapped places while that work is pending.
Other National Register properties close enough to walk or drive between, ordered by distance from this one. Both positions come from the same geocoding pass that matched these properties to their map sheets.
| Photograph | Property | Distance | Listed |
|---|---|---|---|
 | Galva Opera House | 0.4 miles | 1982 |
 | Colony Steeple Building | 4.2 miles | 1970 |
| National Archives record | The nomination case file for reference 82002539 in Record Group 79. |
| Wikipedia article | Community-written account of this property, licensed CC BY-SA. |
| Henry County | All 16 listed properties in this county. |
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