Helena in Lewis and Clark County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)

Joshua and Martha Armitage House

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 15, 2021

1. Joshua and Martha Armitage House Marker

Inscription. The western gold rushes not only lured miners but entrepreneurs seeking business opportunities. Armed with blacksmithing and wagon-making skills, adventurer Joshua Armitage and his wife Martha arrived at Alder Gulch in December 1863. They moved to Helena in 1867 where the multi-talented Armitage was a placer mining engineer and taught singing. In 1870, the Helena vigilantes appointed Armitage to the jury that convicted Joe Wilson and Arthur Compton of attempted murder. The two were the last of a dozen men hanged on Helena’s infamous Hangman’s Tree. Armitage then served as Blackfeet Indian agent under President U. S. Grant and later as Helena’s police magistrate. As the population boomed with the advent of the Northern Pacific, Armitage rose to prominence in real estate. In 1889, he built this comfortable home in the Montana Avenue Addition he helped to plat. With its steep terrace and commanding view of the Helena valley, the Neoclassical style home reflects conservative taste during a time of Victorian flamboyance. Martha Armitage, a devoted mother of nine and renowned practical nurse, filled this home with music and laughter.

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But adventure continued to beckon, and the Armitages moved on in 1896. After several owners, Herman Lindstrom bought the property in 1918. A Swedish emigrant, Lindstrom was a skilled carpenter whose sons followed in their father’s footsteps. Their home, too, was filled with music, laughter, and family gatherings. The Lindstroms’ seventy-year tenure established a pattern for the home’s careful preservation. In 2005, daughter Marian Lindstrom Larson returned the original stained glass transom to the current owners. Thus the legacy continues today.

Erected by Montana Historical Society.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Law Enforcement • Settlements & Settlers. In addition, it is included in the Montana National Register Sign Program series list.

Location. 46° 35.068′ N, 112° 1.262′ W. Marker is in Helena, Montana, in Lewis and Clark County. It is on East Broadway Street near North Montana Avenue, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1117 East Broadway Street, Helena MT 59601, United

Joshua and Martha Armitage House and Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 15, 2021

2. Joshua and Martha Armitage House and Marker

States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in andspecifically entral Montana in Gold West Country. It is also in the American Mountain West

and in the Lewis & Clark Corridor.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Board of Health Building (approx. 0.2 miles away); Thomas Francis Meagher. (approx. 0.2 miles away); Livestock Building (approx. 0.2 miles away); Legislative Restaurant - Capital Annex (approx. 0.2 miles away); Original Headquarters - Montana Highway Patrol (approx. 0.2 miles away); Montana State Capitol Campus Historic District (approx. 0.2 miles away); Unemployment Compensation Commission (approx. 0.2 miles away); Mitchell Building (approx. ¼ mile away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Helena.

Joshua and Martha Armitage House image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 15, 2021

3. Joshua and Martha Armitage House

Credits. This page was last revised on May 25, 2025. It was originally submitted on November 29, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 270 times since then and 32 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on November 29, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.