If you’re not familiar with Galesburg, its time to discover it’s hidden charm. And if you believe you know Galesburg well, there’s more waiting to be uncovered.
That’s the concept behind Galesburg City Tours & Travel Co. Created by Galesburg native and former Streaks girls basketball star Shanell (Jackson) Lightfoot, Galesburg City Tours & Travel Co. sells itself as a highly valuable guest experience that helps locals and visitors discover the very best of historic Galesburg in the most time efficient manner.
Galesburg City Tours & Travel Co. is starting with two tours — a City History Tour and a Galesburg Brewery and Taproom Tour. It debuts this week with the history and brewery tours Thursday through Sunday. Tickets can be purchased online at GalesburgCityTours.com.
Iconic History Tour features 30-plus points of interest
The Iconic City History Tour is a guided history tour with 30-plus points of interest across Galesburg. Guests will board a 6-seat emission-free electric cruiser for a 90-minute tour led by a local expert guide who will share history and lighthearted, legendary tales behind some of Galesburg’s most iconic streets, statues, sites and structures.
Tickets for City History Tour are $49 per person.
Brewery & Taproom Tour features tastings at 3 stops
On The Galesburg Brewery & Taproom Tour, guests will spend the afternoon indulging in small-batch craft beer flights, as the tour hops from one brewery to the next through the brick-paved streets of the historic downtown Galesburg district.
Tour stops include:
- Cherry St. Brewing Company
- Iron Spike
- Reserve Artisan Ales
The $79 ticket price includes generous beer tastings at each stop, plus a light snack at one brewery location.
“(The Brewery & Taproom Tour) is the perfect activity for solo travelers, couples seeking a fun day date, groups of friends, or anyone wanting to sip and savor the finest brews in a single afternoon in historic Galesburg,” Lightfoot said.
Lightfoot said the idea of Galesburg City Tours & Travel Co. came to mind when she when was back in town for the death of her father in 2022.
“I stayed at The Silas Willard Mansion and that weekend at the Great House allowed me to see Galesburg from a different vantage point,” Lightfoot said. “My perspective was no longer that of a child yearning to flee ‘boring Galesburg.’ I had become an adventurous visitor in the very place that I grew up for the first time.
“I discovered how much of an unassuming gem Galesburg really is, and I wanted to use my hospitality experience to share that perspective with local residents and visitors through immersive guided sightseeing tours.”
Despite growing up in Galesburg, Lightfoot admits her knowledge of her hometown was limited.
“The things I’ve learned (about Galesburg) in the last year have been mind blowing to say the least.” — Shanell Lightfoot, Galesburg City Tours & Travel Co.
”I knew what I was exposed to and honestly, I don’t remember learning much about the history of Galesburg beyond Carl Sandburg,” she said. “I’d heard stories about Galesburg being a part of the Underground Railroad, but nothing more than hearsay.
“I grew up on North Street and had no clue the founder of Galesburg, Reverend George Washington Gale’s home was right down the street until 2022.
“The things I’ve learned in the last year have been mind blowing to say the least.”
Lightfoot said Owen Muelder, Laurie Sauer and the staff in the special archives department at Knox College helped her take a deep dive into the life of Joseph Humphries Barquet.
“Mr. Barquet was such an integral figure in Galesburg history who I don’t think is talked about enough; in the 1870s, he waged a struggle for equal educational opportunities for Galesburg’s African American school aged children to integrate the schools,” Lightfoot said.
”In my opinion, the man deserves a statue for his contributions.”
(Jackson) Lightfoot, GHS Class of 2001, was a key player for the Streaks during their run of six straight state tournament appearances.
“I’ve done so much in the last 20 years, but I’m most proud to have become a wife to my husband Shannon and a mother to our two boys, Kellen and Kendall,” Lightfoot said.
”But I’ve been back to Galesburg more times in the last five months than I have in the last 22 years. It’s wild.”
