Helena in Lewis and Clark County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Henry Hay Homestead
West Main Street Historic District
Photographed By Barry Swackhamer, July 15, 2021
1. Henry Hay Homestead Marker
Inscription.
Henry Hay Homestead. West Main Street Historic District. English immigrants Frances and Henry Hay came to Helena in the mid-1860s and were among the first to settle on West Main where Hay mined a claim. Their log cabin became the center of the present residence, built circa 1870. A switchback path leads to a small mother-in-law house. Hay and neighbors Joseph Poad and Benjamin Benson operated the New Water Company from 1883 until circa 1888 when the City of Helena bought their water rights extending to Reeder’s Alley. Hay ran a fuel business, employing five of his six sons as teamsters. The Hays kept a watering trough out front for teams passing by. The family kept horses and dairy cows in the board-and-batten barn and used the shed as a creamery. Like many of their neighbors, the Hays built the shed into the hillside to keep their dairy products cool. The Hay homestead well represents the self-sufficiency and industry of early Helena pioneers. In 2004, property owner and Hay descendant Margie Broderick, local preservationists, and the Montana Conservation Corps worked together to stabilize the historic barn.
English immigrants Frances and Henry Hay came to Helena in the mid-1860s and were among the first to settle on West Main where Hay mined a claim. Their log cabin became the center of the present residence, built circa 1870. A switchback path leads to a small mother-in-law house. Hay and neighbors Joseph Poad and Benjamin Benson operated the New Water Company from 1883 until circa 1888 when the City of Helena bought their water rights extending to Reeder’s Alley. Hay ran a fuel business, employing five of his six sons as teamsters. The Hays kept a watering trough out front for teams passing by. The family kept horses and dairy cows in the board-and-batten barn and used the shed as a creamery. Like many of their neighbors, the Hays built the shed into the hillside to keep their dairy products cool. The Hay homestead well represents the self-sufficiency and industry of early Helena pioneers. In 2004, property owner and Hay descendant Margie Broderick, local preservationists, and the Montana Conservation Corps worked together to stabilize the historic barn.
Location. 46° 34.689′ N, 112° 3.103′ W. Marker is in Helena, Montana, in Lewis and Clark County. Marker is on West Main Street near Grizzly Gulch Drive, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 684 West Main Street, Helena MT 59601, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on December 6, 2021. It was originally submitted on December 6, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 80 times since then and 7 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on December 6, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
