Rainy Day in Galion? Here's a Word Search for the "Remember When" Crowd

Rainy day? Stuck inside? Here's the perfect excuse to make a cup of something warm and kick back for a while.

The Galion, Ohio Places We Used to Shop

Remember Dean's? The Clothes Horse? Murphy Mart? 

Everyone who grew up around Galion has a favorite place that's no longer there, whether it was where you got your school clothes, grabbed a bite, or ran into half the town on a Saturday afternoon. 

We put a few of them together in a free printable word search called Galion Places We Miss.

What's in it:

• A 15 × 15 puzzle with nine local names hidden across, down, and diagonally
• A word list, so nobody has to feel bad about peeking
• A separate answer key is available on request.

It's a good one for a rainy afternoon, a quiet evening, or passing around the table at your next family gathering. 

Bonus points if the conversation starts a "Do you remember when...?" conversation. Those usually last longer than the puzzle does.

Download This Free Galion Word Search Here

Download the free word search (PDF)

Print it, solve it, and pass it along to someone else who'll remember these places too.

Did we miss your favorite place to shop (or eat)? Tell us in the comments which Galion place you miss most, and we might include it in a second edition.

The Big Four Depot in Galion, Ohio: History, Renovation & a Free Coloring Page

Stylized sketch of the Big Four Depot in Galion, Ohio

Few buildings say "Galion" like the Big Four Depot on North Washington Street. It has stood through more than a century of change, from the busiest days of the railroad to the quiet decades since.

A Brief History of the Big Four Depot

The depot was dedicated on December 27, 1900, and served as division headquarters for the Cleveland, Chicago, Cincinnati, and St. Louis Railroad, commonly called the Big Four. Passenger traffic peaked during and after World War I, when 32 trains stopped here every day, and Railway Express handled as many as 20 trains a day into the 1950s.

Galion was also a whistle stop for presidential campaigns, with speeches from the train platform by Al Smith in 1928, Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1932, and Dwight D. Eisenhower and Richard Nixon in 1952.

Free Big Four Depot Coloring Page

To celebrate Galion's railroad heritage, I made a free printable coloring page to share here on Galionite: a steam locomotive at the platform, travelers with their trunks, and an early motorcar waiting out front. It's an imagined scene inspired by Galion's locomotive heritage rather than an exact copy of the depot, and it's meant for colored pencils or crayons.

Galion's Railroad Heritage at a Glance

• 1900: The depot is dedicated as a division headquarters.
• World War I era: Traffic peaks at 32 trains daily.
• 1929: The New York Central acquires the Big Four and moves the division headquarters to Bellefontaine.
• 1964: The ticket office closes.
• 1969: All railroad offices close.
• 1974: The depot is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
• 2000: The City of Galion acquires the building.
• 2015: Galion Depot, Inc. is established to preserve, restore and rehabilitate the depot and share local history.

Preserving the Depot Today

The Big Four Depot is one of the few remaining Big Four division headquarters stations in Ohio and the nation. Local groups, including Galion Depot, Inc. and the Friends of the Galion Big Four Depot, have worked to preserve it, including building a pavilion on the grounds for community events. In September 2026, the Friends held a free history open house for the depot's 125th anniversary, with tours, displays and train trivia.

For the latest news and events, follow the Friends of the Galion Big Four Depot on Facebook.

Download the free Big Four Depot coloring page (PDF)

Click the image to download the free, printable PDF of this coloring page.

Print it for kids, grandkids, or your own quiet afternoon. If you have stories or photos of Galion's railroad days, we'd love to hear them.

Sources: Ohio Historical Marker 9-17 (Big Four Depot); National Register of Historic Places; Galion Depot, Inc.; Friends of the Galion Big Four Depot.