Historic maps show that the area above Reeder’s Alley, known as Reeder’s Gulch, was long undeveloped and virtually inaccessible. The city gave in to local pressure in the early 1890s and began construction of this bridge, first known as the Howie . . . — — Map (db m187408) HM
A modern brick veneer does not mask the original footprint of this early Helena home. The large bay window, the steeply pitched roof (which added space for a second story), and the cross gable, once sheltered by a full-length front porch, reflect . . . — — Map (db m188088) HM
This was one of five structures rebuilt after the disastrous lightning-sparked fire of 1928. The original building and its replacement housed the thriving New York Store renamed Fligelman’s in 1929 from 1902 to 1958. This pioneer department store . . . — — Map (db m186484) HM
The Olsen House was built in stages after Amelia Derrick Olsen purchased this property in 1874. At that time, Park Street was known as Clore Street, and the original home built on these lots was a wooden, two-story building. The gable-roofed, . . . — — Map (db m187252) HM
Montana’s Original Governor’s Mansion was built as a private residence for the William Chessman family in 1888, and was home to the Peter Larson family and the Harfield Conrad family before the state purchased it (along with much of the Conrads’ . . . — — Map (db m188457) HM
The Montana Highway Patrol was created by an act of the State Legislature and signed into law by Governor Frank Cooney on 14 March, 1935. This building served as the original headquarters from 1935 until the early 1950s.
Governor Frank Cooney . . . — — Map (db m186966) HM
Attention to detail distinguishes this one-story brick residence, designed in 1934 by Helena architect E. B. Benson. Benson’s plan incorporates many Tudor revival style elements: an asymmetrical facade, sloping roofline, prominent chimney, arched . . . — — Map (db m187739) HM
Wilson Butts followed the stampede to Last Chance Gulch in 1864, staked his claim here, and built a serviceable one-room cabin. The following spring his brother Jonas arrived with a wife and three young daughters. Jonas added a front room and porch . . . — — Map (db m187372) HM
Former Montana First Lady and member of the Oro Fino Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), Grace Vance Erickson spearheaded efforts to preserve this historic cabin. In 1938, Grace rallied DAR members, including chapter officers . . . — — Map (db m187315) HM
Artist C. M. Russell illustrated the program for the formal ball, held April 12, 1913, inaugurating the largest hotel between the Twin Cities and the Coast. Built almost entirely with donations as a public enterprise, Helena felt real pride of . . . — — Map (db m186552) HM
The Northern Pacific finally extended its tracks to Helena in 1883, and the town became increasingly cosmopolitan. Pioneer real estate developer James Porter constructed this very stylish apartment building in 1884, the first of many multifamily . . . — — Map (db m188377) HM
Influential merchant and investor T. C. Power built his fortunes by controlling much of territorial Montana’s commerce and Indian trade. This outstanding granite business block housed Power’s American National Bank from 1892 through the 1920s. . . . — — Map (db m186279) HM
This well-preserved commercial structure illustrates Helena’s growth from mining camp to prosperous town. The quoins and arches of the original stone building, constructed circa 1865-1872, are still visible at the rear. In 1878, the building was . . . — — Map (db m186603) HM
On July 14, 1864, four hungry miners took a "last chance", found color in their pans, and gold seekers soon moved to stake their claims. One of them built the Pioneer Cabin, Helena's oldest documented dwelling. Within the first four years, Last . . . — — Map (db m187376) HM
Pennsylvania brick mason Louis Reeder came to Helena in 1867 to practice his trade. Reeder invested in real estate and among his properties were these lots along the steep hillside of West Cutler Street. Between 1875 and 1884 Reeder constructed a . . . — — Map (db m187378) HM
Built by Louis Reeder in the late 1860s thru 1882, Reeder's Alley stands as a memorial to the architecture of the 1870s Helena. Its importance lies not in its splendor, but its quaintness. It is one of Montana's oldest streets and one of her newest . . . — — Map (db m187407) HM
Robert E. Fisk came to Montana with the 1866 Fisk Expedition organized by his famous wagon-master brother, James. The two brothers and other partners established the Helena Herald in November 1866. Robert, who was a printer before the Civil War, . . . — — Map (db m188333) HM
Thomas K. Dane established a hotel on this corner in 1875 when Helena became the territorial capital. On a busy thoroughfare just off Courthouse Square, the establishment had become the Rodney Hotel by 1883 and the original frame building fronting . . . — — Map (db m188233) HM
Gambling that Helena would continue to grow, Eliza Roush purchased this lot and several others in 1869. Her bet paid off, and by 1875, Rodney Street was crowded with buildings, including a small wooden dwelling on this site. A series of wooden . . . — — Map (db m188235) HM
Irish immigrant James M. Ryan owned a number of local rental properties, including this appealing wood-frame apartment building constructed as a duplex between 1885 and 1888. Rapid growth during the 1880s prompted neighborhood tenants to take in . . . — — Map (db m188112) HM
Small dwellings along this stretch of West Main Street housed miners and other boarders from the mid-1860s. The first plat of the Helena townsite, drawn in 1868, designated this former mining claim Block Number 1. Scottish immigrant Samuel Dempster . . . — — Map (db m187483) HM
The history of this magnificent home, one of the earliest of the great mansions built on Helena’s west side, is finely interwoven with the history of Montana. Pioneer entrepreneur and financier Samuel T. Hauser built the twenty-nine-room residence . . . — — Map (db m187737) HM
Frontier lawyer Wilbur Fisk Sanders established his reputation in 1863 by courageously prosecuting Virginia City’s most dangerous outlaws. A member of the first territorial legislature and Montana’s first United States senator, Sanders was renowned . . . — — Map (db m188379) HM
Originally this was a one-story stone building erected in 1874 to accommodate the business of Morris and Julius Sands. The brothers added a second story and remodeled the façade in 1889, finishing it with alternating rows of buff sandstone and blue . . . — — Map (db m186604) HM
A pair of two-story bay windows with granite sills, decorative brickwork, corbelled cornice, and open front porch recall the prosperous Courthouse Square neighborhood during the 1880s and 1890s. This attractive brick Italianate style dwelling, . . . — — Map (db m188459) HM
Once connected to the old St. Louis Hotel on Jackson Street, this 1882 building in the heart of Helena’s original downtown displays the metal cornices and banded, pedimented windows typical of Italianate style architecture of the time. Pioneer . . . — — Map (db m186668) HM
Dwellings, bunkhouses, and stables dotted the hilltop during the 1880s, forming an extension of Louis Reeder’s housing complex downslope. One prominent stone building, now the largest portion of the present building, contained four small shotgun . . . — — Map (db m187409) HM
Benjamin H. and Lydia Mears Tatem came west as newlyweds in 1869. They settled in Helena where Tatem managed the Unionville mining claims of Philadelphia investors and operated Helena Iron Works. Tatem profited from his interest in the Bald Butte . . . — — Map (db m187677) HM
Opportunity drew European Jewish immigrants to the gold camp at Last Chance where business and religion brought them together. The Jewish community contributed a firm financial foundation to the early settlement. It was the Jewish pioneers . . . — — Map (db m188378) HM
In the spring of 1864, John S. Cowan of Georgia, D.J. Miller of Alabama, John Crabb of Iowa, and Reginald (Bob) Stanley of Nuneaton, England, set out from Alder Creek to prospect along the Little Blackfoot River. They had no luck and moved on, . . . — — Map (db m187411) HM
In 1864 four miners passed through this valley on their way back from an unsuccessful prospecting trip. Discouraged they decided to take one "last chance", filling their pans a few hundred yards south of here they struck pay dirt. Another boom town . . . — — Map (db m186777) HM
(left panel)
American soldier and statesman; Brigadier General United States Army; raised and organized the Irish Brigade in the Army of the Potomac, and personally commanded it in the battles of Fair Oaks, Mechanicsville, Gaines’ Mill, . . . — — Map (db m128477) HM WM
Praised for lending “an air of distinction” to “one of the handsomest residence streets in Helena,” this three-story Queen Anne style home was constructed for George and Eva Tracy. The house was completed just prior to the calamitous economic . . . — — Map (db m187671) HM
(Six bronze plaques are mounted on this marker:)
U.S.S. Helena FG-9
1896-1932
The first ship named after the state capital city was the gunboat "Helena." She saw action in Cuban waters during the Spanish-American War . . . — — Map (db m186678) HM WM
The Montana National Bank, the first bank chartered in Montana Territory, was located on this site in 1866. A housing shortage during the 1880s prompted the construction of this three-story rooming house in 1887. The French Second Empire-inspired . . . — — Map (db m186674) HM
Politician John G. Winant wrote in 1936 that the Great Depression made Americans aware that there were no more frontiers. Individual initiative and enterprise could no longer guarantee financial security. The government subsequently established the . . . — — Map (db m187068) HM
Helena owes its existence to gold-bearing quartz lodes in the hills south of town. The gold washed out of the hills into Last Chance Gulch where the "Four Georgians" discovered it in 1864. The fabulously rich strike drew hundreds of men and women to . . . — — Map (db m188671) HM
Broad proportions and a horizontal emphasis combine with natural colors to make this classic bungalow a handsome ambassador of that popular style. The residence is unique to the district and an excellent example of early-twentieth-century affluence. . . . — — Map (db m188083) HM
As early as 1866, Rodney Street was Helena’s primary north-south connection and thus supported a variety of early businesses. It was also an area better protected from the fires that constantly threatened downtown commerce. This building, . . . — — Map (db m188234) HM
Small in scale but highly distinctive, this colorful Modern style office building is an eye-catching anchor at one of Helena’s busiest intersections. When it opened in 1962, it was one of the nation’s most up-to-date office facilities. Western Life, . . . — — Map (db m187251) HM
This early gable-front-and-wing residence was constructed in 1878 by postal clerk William F. Bishop for $2,000. Mrs. Margaret Bishop ran a dressmaking business from the home and took in boarders in the late 1880s. Cottage industries and . . . — — Map (db m188110) HM
Nineteenth-century charm is well preserved in this 1883 Queen Anne style residence, built by pioneer physician William L. Steele. Its present appearance reflects additions, including a front porch and bay window, made before 1892. Stucco applied . . . — — Map (db m188087) HM
Although modest compared to Helena’s imposing West Side mansions of a slightly later period, this well-preserved home was very grand for its early date. Woodman S. Paynter arrived in Helena in 1868 and entered into a business partnership with Henry . . . — — Map (db m188206) HM
Only seven years after organizing, the Helena chapter of the Young Women’s Christian Association, Independent, opened this residential building for the city’s young working women in 1918. Founded by women from most of Helena’s churches and . . . — — Map (db m187253) HM
For many thousands of years, travelers of every description have traversed the Blackfoot River corridor. As you drive Highway 200, alongside the boulder-strewn rapids of the fabled Blackfoot River, envision the journeys, some pleasurable, others . . . — — Map (db m219983) HM
What makes this place, the Blackfoot River and its surrounding bioregion, so special? The Blackfoot watershed - with its headwaters near here, atop the Continental Divide at Roger's Pass - embraces 1.5 million acres. This vast area offers prime . . . — — Map (db m220015) HM
The weather has been unrelenting for days...
but the rugged Montana miners persevered and continued with their daily work. The 4 K's Mine near Rogers Pass, Montana was an equal effort between four men: brothers Albert and Harry Hleinschmidt, . . . — — Map (db m220107) HM
"Range life in 1900 was a grueling occupation and especially so in in the Alice
Creek area where early snows and long winters made for a very short summer
work period. When Alberta [Patterson] was twenty-one months old her
mother told of . . . — — Map (db m220035) HM
In 1806, Lewis and Clark followed separate Indian "roads" back across the Continental Divide. Lewis traveled up the Blackfoot River and over Lewis and Clark Pass.
This easy route led Lewis to where the vast treeless prairie rises dramatically . . . — — Map (db m219988) HM
Wherever you are in Montana, you stand in the pathway of Lewis and Clark. Their 1804-1806 expedition was a grand adventure to investigate the people and resources of the newly acquired Louisiana Purchase and to seek a navigable passage across the . . . — — Map (db m220016) HM
Splitting Up the Corps
Captain Meriwether Lewis passed this way in the summer of 1806. Traveling east from their winter on the Pacific Ocean, co-commanders William Clark and Meriwether Lewis stopped near present-day Lolo, Montana. At a . . . — — Map (db m220034) HM
Bison! This great shaggy beast sustained the Indians of the Plains and adjacent areas for thousands of years. And in these parts we call Montana, an ancient network of trails led the Salish, Pend d'Oreille, and related Indian tribes, who . . . — — Map (db m220033) HM
Marysville owes its existence to the nearby Drumlummon Mine developed by a
determined miner named Tommy Cruse. The British-owned Montana Mining Company
acquired the mine in 1883. Expansion of Drumlummon operations, including a large
ore . . . — — Map (db m155021) HM
Ann and Blibal Betor has a general store here as early as 1898. Mr. Betor was a rug peddler when he first migrated to the USA originally from Lebanon. The general store included "Dry Goods, Gent's Furnishings, Children's Ware, and Notions."
The . . . — — Map (db m188742) HM
Built in 1883 as a two-room structure the Marysville schoolhouse quickly became inadequate and in 1891 a second story was added to accommodate more than 200 hundred (sic) students in eleven grades. At this time instruction was provided by as many as . . . — — Map (db m188738) HM
Once the home of James and Donalda Shaffer, this house was last occupied by Frank Nyaski. The building which was donated to the Marysville Pioneer Association in 1969 by Yvette, Vinnie and Jim Shaffer, has presently been restored and used as a . . . — — Map (db m188739) HM
In 1870 the mining town of Marysville was established and named for the first pioneer woman here, Mary Ralston, by Thomas Cruse, owner of the famous Drum Lummon Mine.
By 1900, the Marysville Mining District was reported to be the richest gold . . . — — Map (db m154440) HM
Marysville’s Methodist Episcopal Church was built in 1886 by its congregation on land purchased from Thomas Cruse, who founded the town in 1876 around his Drum Lummon gold and silver claims. The church’s modest clapboard-sided frame and bell tower . . . — — Map (db m188675) HM
This is windy country, Eagle country. Here, where Montana's Rocky Mountains spill down to the Great Plains, you can witness an aerial procession each February and March. Hundreds of migrating golden eagles, bald eagles and hawks ride a cushion of . . . — — Map (db m144028) HM
For many years there was no direct route between Helena and Great Falls other than the railroad and the lengthy and treacherous old Benton wagon road. During the Great Depression, the Montana Highway Department built thousands of miles of good paved . . . — — Map (db m141797) HM
Montana's great outdoors was his favorite place, and he helped make it better for all of us be establishing this and many other sites along rivers in the state.
Forrest, a native Montanan, grew up in the depression working hard, raised a family . . . — — Map (db m141802) HM
On his return journey in July 1806 Capt. Meriwether Lewis crossed the continental divide at Lewis & Clark Pass about 2 miles west of here. He was now on land of the Louisiana Purchase and back in United States territory. He was following the ancient . . . — — Map (db m144054) HM
At an isolated gulch about thirteen miles south of here on August 5, 1949, twelve smokejumpers and a Forest Service employee died when a routine fire unexpectedly turned deadly. The lightning-caused fire at Mann Gulch was spotted by a Forest Ranger . . . — — Map (db m141799) HM
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