Galena is an abandoned town in Washoe County, Nevada, south of Reno. The portion of Reno just south of Mount Rose Highway and west of Steamboat Springs is also known as Galena. Galena was developed as a mining property in 1860, with the discovery of silver in the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada. The town greatly expanded after 1862, when it …Galena is an abandoned town in Washoe County, Nevada, south of Reno. The portion of Reno just south of Mount Rose Highway and west of Steamboat Springs is also known as Galena. Galena was developed as a mining property in 1860, with the discovery of silver in the eastern foothills of the Sierra Nevada. The town greatly expanded after 1862, when it also became an important lumbering center. By 1863, there were eleven sawmills operating in Galena. The town's streets during the height of commercial activity, were crowded with "grog shops overflowed with charcoal burners, wood choppers, timbermen, millers, miners, bullwhackers and teamsters"