The founder of the village of Galien was George A. Blakeslee. Born in Pennsylvania, he came to Galien Township in 1853. He platted Galien village in 1861, and it was incorporated in 1879. The village straddled a fairly new Michigan Central Railroad completed in 1849 from New Buffalo to Detroit. Blakeslee operated a sawmill at the site of present-day Galien, and established a general store. He purchased several thousand acres in the vicinity of the village and harvested the timber for his sawmill operation. For many years after Galien was established, he was president of the village, postmaster, justice of the peace, member of the school board and later World Bishop of the Latter Day Saint's Church. Blakeslee Street was named after him and is located in the SE quadrant of the city plat. On July 21, 1971, fire broke out in a hardware store in downtown Galien and destroyed that building as well as a restaurant and a beauty salon adjacent to it. Another fire on October 18, 1971, extensively damaged a nearby IGA supermarket. Between the two fires in one year, the northeast corner of the business district was destroyed.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of, all land. Galien straddles U.S. Highway 12, and is located in the Galien Riverbasin, being situated just west and south of the main stem.
As of the census of 2010, there were 549 people, 227 households, and 133 families living in the village. The population density was. There were 255 housing units at an average density of. The racial makeup of the village was 96.4% White, 1.1% African American, 0.9% Native American, 0.2% Asian, 0.2% from other races, and 1.3% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.8% of the population. There were 227 households, of which 29.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.6% were married couplesliving together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, 6.6% had a male householder with no wife present, and 41.4% were non-families. 33.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.42 and the average family size was 3.09. The median age in the village was 37.6 years. 24% of residents were under the age of 18; 8.6% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 26.3% were from 25 to 44; 25.3% were from 45 to 64; and 15.7% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 50.3% male and 49.7% female.
2000 census
As of the census of 2000, there were 593 people, 223 households, and 159 families living in the village. The population density was 1,329.9 per square mile. There were 244 housing units at an average density of 547.2 per square mile. The racial makeup of the village was 96.96% White, 0.17% Native American, and 2.87% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.84% of the population. There were 223 households, out of which 35.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.6% were married couples living together, 20.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.3% were non-families. 23.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.14. In the village, the population was spread out, with 30.9% under the age of 18, 9.3% from 18 to 24, 29.0% from 25 to 44, 18.9% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.9 males. The median income for a household in the village was $35,250, and the median income for a family was $35,313. Males had a median income of $36,053 versus $17,692 for females. The per capita income for the village was $15,739. About 13.3% of families and 14.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.0% of those under age 18 and 10.0% of those age 65 or over.
