The original collection of papers of George Gale are described only in the summary of the entire collection above. Additional papers presented later to the Archives have been interfiled with the original collection but are more completely described in the sentences which follow. These additional papers deal almost entirely with his career after Gale's removal to the town of Galesville which he founded in Trempealeau County about 1855. There is some correspondence on his extensive real estate operations and on his connections with the lumber industry, also on his services as circuit judge from 1857 to 1863. The bulk of his correspondence, however, is for the years 1863 to 1868 during Judge Gale's prolonged absences from home in search of health. Letters to and from his family deal with the management of the many enterprises with which he was concerned, as well as family affairs. For a short time during this period he was agent in the South for the Sanitary Commission.
There are a few letters on local politics, chiefly from adherents of the Democratic Party, and correspondence with persons of prominence in La Crosse, Black River Falls, and other neighboring cities.
Students of cultural history will be interested in the material on Galesville University--minutes of meetings, financial arrangements, applications for positions, and general management of the institution. In June 1863, Judge Gale became the first president of the Upper Mississippi Historical Society, an organization with small but widely scattered membership and boasting a museum and library.
Shortly before his death in 1868 Judge Gale published two volumes--a history of the upper Mississippi valley, dealing principally with the Indian tribes of the region, and a history of the Gale family. Included in the papers are several addresses and articles written by Judge Gale, also some correspondence of his son, William Gale, who became an attorney in Winona, Minnesota.
