At the time Carl Sandburg was born on January 6,1878, the City of Galesburg was a little over forty-one years old.

On June 2, 1836, the first group of twenty-two colonists arrived at the site later known as Log City. It was near a spring and the newcomers erected log cabins for protection from the weather. They lived there until houses could be constructed in the village they planned. The family names of West, Conger, Allen and Ferris still identify streets in Galesburg. The town was named for the Reverend George Washington Gales in tribute to his leadership in establishing the community.

After their arrival, the colonists laid out the town. The boundaries were delineated by North and South Streets with Seminary and Academy Streets on the east and west. Land was set aside for a public square, a cemetery, a college and a church. A manual labor farm on the south side of the village contained more than a thousand acres. The cemetery was called Hope, the college was named Prairie and the church was named the First Church.

Gale's plan included establishing a manual labor college for the training of clergymen. The state of Illinois was considered to be in need of religious conversion. Later the farmland was laid out as part of the village. It was the first addition to the original boundaries. Many of those lots would be sold to later settlers of Galesburg—Swedish, Irish, German and Italian immigrants.

Galesburg's founders adjusted to the prairie landscape, built their clapboard houses, erected schools, established businesses and raised their children. When the opportunity came to bring a railroad, they invested and mortgaged their businesses to raise the necessary money. They were convinced the railroad would be the connection to the rest of the country they needed to transport the goods and farm products they made. It came to pass and the town grew and became prosperous. Eventually, a third of the town's workers were employed by the railroad. Among them was August Sandburg, the father of the great poet.

In 1937, Galesburg celebrated the hundredth anniversary of its founding and that of Knox College. Carl Sandburg returned to the city to speak at the re-dedication of the restored Old Main on the Knox College campus. A long parade traversed the Main Street and thousands of spectators lined the street. The store windows were filled with objects of historical interest and colorful displays.

A number of organizations and individuals sponsored some twenty markers which were placed around the original plat. Each one commemorated an historical event, or the homes of individuals prominent in the formation of the town, or buildings which had once existed. Also marked were the four corners of the original boundaries. As you drive around Galesburg you can still see them. The southwest marker was placed at South and Academy Streets. The northwest marker sits at the corner of North and Academy Streets. On the northeast corner of the original village a marker was placed at the intersection of North and Seminary Streets. The southeast marker was set in the wall of the subway under the railroad tracks where Seminary Street meets South Street.

In his remarks in 1937, Carl Sandburg spoke of the vision of the city's founders. Yet, it is unlikely they could have imagined the size of Galesburg in 1937, or even today.