Shameless Opportunism in the Marketing of a City - Galena and Ulysses S Grant

The city of Galena, IL, former major Mississippi river port and lead-mining frontier boomtown, makes a big deal of its connection to Ulysses S Grant. For example, it hypes: 

• The Ulysses S. Grant Home, a national landmark 

• A statue of his wife, Julia Dendt Grant 

• Grant Park with an impressive statue of Ulysses S Grant

• The Galena and U.S. Grant Museum 

• U.S. Grant Memorial Highway, U.S. Route 20

So, what is the connection? Was Ulysses S. Grant born in Galena, or did he live there most of his life, or what?

It turns out that Ulysses S. Grant came to Galena for the first time in April 1860, when he was 38 years old to work in a family owned tannery. He was married with 4 children.
A year later, April 1861, he enlisted in the Civil War.
After the war, August 1865, he returned a hero and was presented with a new, fully furnished home which is now "The Ulysses S. Grant Home, a National Landmark".
A little over a month later, in October, he left for a tour of the US.
From there, he went on to political positions in Washington, DC, eventually serving 2 terms as US President from 1869 - 1877.
The Grants then went on a world tour for 2 ½ years, maybe returned to Galena for a short time in 1880, before moving to NY for the rest of their lives.

So by my calculation, Grant lived in Galena a little over a year, and in The Ulysses S. Grant Home, a National Landmark, at most two months

Still, it is absolutely worth visiting Galena, which has transformed itself into an adorable tourist destination with nearly 80% of the city’s homes and commercial buildings listed in the National Register of Historic Places, and the requisite upscale lodging, restaurants, craft breweries, wineries, handmade gift shops, ghost tours, zip line, and goat yoga.