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

Grizzly Gulch Lime Kilns

West Main Street Historic District

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 15, 2021

1. Grizzly Gulch Lime Kilns Marker

Inscription. Lime manufacture was an essential industry for building in brick and stone in the nineteenth century. The Grizzly Gulch outcrops and the kilns below them supplied the entire region with lime of the highest quality. Joseph O’Neill built the first of these kilns in the late 1860s. Hewn timbers, hand-forged metal braces, and finely laid fire brick shipped from the East illustrate the kilns’ sturdy construction. Workers blasted or quarried the limestone out of the hills behind, conveyed the rocks on handcars to the kilns or tumbled them down the embankment, and dumped them into the tops of the chimneys. Pine fires in the furnace beneath burned constantly. After several days, workers shoveled the powdered lime into the cooling shed adjacent the kiln and teamsters hauled it to the building site. Each kiln could produce some twenty tons of lime every eight hours. Irish-born James McKelvey later leased and then owned the kilns, supplying the mortar for the construction of the State Capitol. Lack of railroad access eventually forced closure circa 1910 although one kiln operated again briefly in the 1930s.

Erected by Montana

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Historical Society.

Topics and series. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Natural Resources. In addition, it is included in the Montana National Register Sign Program series list. A significant historical year for this entry is 1910.

Location. 46° 34.606′ N, 112° 3.23′ W. Marker is in Helena, Montana, in Lewis and Clark County. It is on Grizzly Gulch Drive near Oro Fino Gulch Drive, on the right. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: 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 Rupert’s Land

and also the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: Henry Hay Homestead (about 700 feet away, measured in a direct line); Helena West Main Street Historic District

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 15, 2021

2. Grizzly Gulch Lime Kilns Marker

(approx. 0.2 miles away); Lawrence and Amanda Beaver Residence (approx. 0.3 miles away); Kluge House (approx. 0.4 miles away); 488-490 West Main Street (approx. half a mile away); Elisha and Joseph Poad House (approx. half a mile away); Samuel Dempster House (approx. half a mile away); B.K. Tatem House (approx. 0.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Helena.

Grizzly Gulch Lime Kilns image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 15, 2021

3. Grizzly Gulch Lime Kilns

Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 15, 2021

4. Grizzly Gulch Lime Kilns

Credits. This page was last revised on January 10, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 6, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 475 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 6, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.