Helena in Lewis and Clark County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
488-490 West Main Street
Helena Historic District
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 15, 2021
1. 488-490 West Main Street Marker
Inscription.
488-490 West Main Street. Helena Historic District. Two distinct front porches attest to the separate histories of these two nineteenth-century homes, combined into one in the late twentieth century. The older of the two at 490 West Main was built between 1865 and 1875. Segmentally arched windows and doors with carved wooden heads typify Helenas first substantial homes. Inside, original woodwork and fourteen-foot ceilings throughout preserve the ambience of the earliest territorial period. A cabin of round notched peeled logs to the south recalls the first mining phase of West Main Street. The house at 488 was built between 1875 and 1888. The modest dwelling has a small room addition with a private entrance to accommodate boarders. A steep, narrow stairway leads to a second-story bedroom. Samuel Dempster and his large extended family occupied the home from 1890. A mining accident claimed Samuels eyesight prompting the Dempsters to move across the street in 1896, likely for the rental income from this residence. Samuel died in 1901 and the property passed out of the family. Numerous iron tie-rods, a consequence of the 1935 earthquakes, reinforce the brick of both homes.
Two distinct front porches attest to the separate histories of these two nineteenth-century homes, combined into one in the late twentieth century. The older of the two at 490 West Main was built between 1865 and 1875. Segmentally arched windows and doors with carved wooden heads typify Helenas first substantial homes. Inside, original woodwork and fourteen-foot ceilings throughout preserve the ambience of the earliest territorial period. A cabin of round notched peeled logs to the south recalls the first mining phase of West Main Street. The house at 488 was built between 1875 and 1888. The modest dwelling has a small room addition with a private entrance to accommodate boarders. A steep, narrow stairway leads to a second-story bedroom. Samuel Dempster and his large extended family occupied the home from 1890. A mining accident claimed Samuels eyesight prompting the Dempsters to move across the street in 1896, likely for the rental income from this residence. Samuel died in 1901 and the property passed out of the family. Numerous iron tie-rods, a consequence of the 1935 earthquakes, reinforce the brick of both homes.
Erected by Montana Historical Society.
Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Architecture
Location. 46° 34.895′ N, 112° 2.809′ W. Marker is in Helena, Montana, in Lewis and Clark County. It is on West Main Street near Carriage Lane, on the left when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 488-490 West Main Street, Helena MT 59601, United 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 Ruperts Land and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 10, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 5, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 271 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on December 5, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
