Heritage through our Ancestors

Metzger, Raymond and Yoder, Catherine Ann

Local History

Locally pronounced Galeen.  In 1853, George A. Blakeslee bought the mill here and the future village site.  In 1854, he built the first store, in which the first post office was located.  Platted in 1861.  Incorporated as a village in 1879. 

Named from the nearby river which had been named for Rene Brehant de Galinee, a Sulpician priest who was a map maker for the missionaries in the state as early as 1670.  By legislative action, the name of the river was altered to Galien in 1829 and of the township in 1844.

Informational excerpts from Michigan Place Names, by Walter Romig, L.H.D.

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