Helena in Lewis and Clark County, Montana — The American West (Mountains)
Joseph E. Allen Livery
Helena South-Central Historic District
Photographed by Barry Swackhamer, July 16, 2021
1. Joseph E. Allen Livery Marker
Inscription.
Joseph E. Allen Livery. Helena South-Central Historic District. Livery stables rented and boarded horses, providing a critical service in the nineteenth century when transportation depended upon reliable mounts. Allen Livery is Helena’s best preserved reminder of this vital business and also recalls the extraordinary diversity of the Courthouse Square neighborhood. By 1867, William H. Allen established a livery stable here on his former mining claim. Its location, as now, was just steps away from the center of county business. After 1875 when Helena became the territorial capital, government officials, county employees, residents of nearby boardinghouses, and Rodney Street businessmen stabled their horses and leased conveyances from the livery. Allen’s nephew, Joseph, eventually took over the business, replacing the original stable with the present utilitarian stone and brick structure circa 1885. Upstairs lodging accommodated the livery’s hostlers and stablemen. Joseph lived upstairs too until he married in the mid-1890s. In 1912, Joseph’s wife died and he followed her twelve days later. Others then ran the fading business until Lewis and Clark County purchased the building in 1920. A study in early advertising, its many “ghost signs” are remarkably well preserved.
Livery stables rented and boarded horses, providing a critical service in the nineteenth century when transportation depended upon reliable mounts. Allen Livery is Helena’s best preserved reminder of this vital business and also recalls the extraordinary diversity of the Courthouse Square neighborhood. By 1867, William H. Allen established a livery stable here on his former mining claim. Its location, as now, was just steps away from the center of county business. After 1875 when Helena became the territorial capital, government officials, county employees, residents of nearby boardinghouses, and Rodney Street businessmen stabled their horses and leased conveyances from the livery. Allen’s nephew, Joseph, eventually took over the business, replacing the original stable with the present utilitarian stone and brick structure circa 1885. Upstairs lodging accommodated the livery’s hostlers and stablemen. Joseph lived upstairs too until he married in the mid-1890s. In 1912, Joseph’s wife died and he followed her twelve days later. Others then ran the fading business until Lewis and Clark County purchased the building in 1920. A study in early advertising, its many “ghost signs” are remarkably well preserved.
Erected by Montana Historical Society.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic
Location. 46° 35.158′ N, 112° 2.108′ W. Marker is in Helena, Montana, in Lewis and Clark County. It is on Breckenridge Street near North Rodney Street, on the right when traveling west. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 312-314 Breckenridge 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 Rupert’s Land and also the Louisiana Purchase.
Credits. This page was last revised on December 27, 2024. It was originally submitted on December 14, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California. This page has been viewed 325 times since then and 15 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3, 4. submitted on December 14, 2021, by Barry Swackhamer of Brentwood, California.
