Helena, Montana
Helena is the capital of
Montana, a
state of the
United States of America. As of the 2000 census, its population was 25,780, but with the surrounding area the population reaches 67,636 [
1]. It is the
county seat of
Lewis and Clark County. The local daily newspaper is the
Independent Record, and there is a free weekly newspaper, the
Queen City News (reflecting the city's nickname). The
Helena Brewers minor league baseball team call the city home.
The town was established on
October 30,
1864, following the discovery of gold along
Last Chance Creek by the "
Four Georgians". Helena's main street is named
Last Chance Gulch and follows the winding path of the original creek through the historic downtown district.
The town was originally named
"Crabtown", after John Crab, one of the "Four Georgians". As other miners arrived and the town expanded it was decided to change the name. After many suggestions, John Sommerville suggested the name of his home town,
Saint Helena, Minnesota, but the pronunciation (
Hel-E-na) did not suit the miners, who preferred
HELL-en-a. Dropping "Saint" from the name as unnecessary, the new name
Helena was adopted (defeating the name
"Tomah" by only two votes).
The townsite was first surveyed in
1865 by Captain John Wood. However, most streets follow the chaotic paths of the miners, going around claims and following the winding streambed. As a result, few city blocks match the ideal of 30 x 60, rather they have an irregular variety of shapes and size causing many major streets to end abruptly.
|
Dead end street with cathedral. Mount Helena, a city park, in background. |
By
1888, about 50 millionaires lived in Helena, more millionaires per capita than any city in the world. About $3.6 billion (in today's dollars) of gold was taken from Last Chance Gulch, over a 20-year period. The Last Chance Placer is one of the most famous placers in the western United States. Most of the production occurred before
1868. Much of the
placer is now under the streets and buildings of Helena (but even as late as the
1970s, when repairs were being made to a Bank, a vein of placer gold was found under the Bank's foundation).
The official symbol of Helena is a drawing of "The Guardian of the Gulch", a wooden fire watch tower built in
1886, that still stands on "
Tower Hill" overlooking the historic downtown district. This fire tower replaced a series of observation buildings, the original being a flimsy lookout stand built in
1870 on the same site, built in response to a series of devastating fires: April 1869, November 1869, October 1871, August 1872 and January 1874 that swept through the early mining camp.
|
The state Capitol building, Helena, Montana |
In 1889, railroad magnate
Charles Arthur Broadwater opened his fabled
Hotel Broadwater and Natatorium west of Helena. Damaged in the earthquake of 1935, it was closed in 1941. It was demolished in
1976.
In 1902, the
Montana State Capitol was completed. Helena has been the capitol of Montana Territory (since 1875) and the state of
Montana (since 1889). A large portion of the conflict between
Marcus Daly and
William Clark (the
Copper Kings) was over the location of the state capitol.
The
Civic Center and the
Cathedral are two of many unique historic buildings in Helena.
Helena High School and Capital High School are both public high schools located in the Helena School District No. 1. Being the state capital, a large number of Helenans work for the state government. When in Helena, most people visit the local walking mall, a three block long strip of stores following the original Last Chance Gulch. There is a fountain running the length of the walking mall, simulating Last Chance Creek.
Helena also has a local ski area,
Great Divide Ski Area, northwest of town near the ghost town of
Marysville, Montana.
Helena is located at (46.595805, -112.027031).
Surrounding features include the
Continental Divide, Mt. Helena City Park,
Spring Meadow Lake State Park, Lake Helena,
Helena National Forest, The
Big Belt Mountains, The
Gates of the Mountains Wilderness The
Missouri River,
Canyon Ferry Lake, and The Elkhorn Mountains.
According to the
United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 36.3
km² (14.0
mi²), all land.
As of the
census of 2000, there were 25,780 people, 11,541 households, and 6,474 families residing in the city. The
population density was 710.5/km² (1,840.7/mi²). There were 12,133 housing units at an average density of 334.4/km² (866.3/mi²). The ethnic makeup of the city is 94.78% White, 0.23%
African American, 2.10%
Native American, 0.78%
Asian, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 0.38% from other races, and 1.66% from two or more races. 1.67% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 11,541 households out of which 27.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.5% were
married couples living together, 10.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 43.9% were non-families. 37.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the city the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 11.1% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 26.0% from 45 to 64, and 13.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 91.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.6 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $34,416, and the median income for a family was $50,018. Males had a median income of $34,357 versus $25,821 for females. The
per capita income for the city was $20,020. About 9.3% of families and 14.5% of the population were below the
poverty line, including 16.4% of those under age 18 and 8.3% of those age 65 or over.
Carroll College, Roman Catholic Liberal Arts college provides education for 1,500 students. It first opened in 1909.
The
University of Montana - Helena College of Technology (formerly Helena Vo-Tech), a two-year, affiliate campus of
The University of Montana, provides transfer and technical education for nearly 1,000 students. It opened in 1939.
*
Governors of Montana*
William F. Wheeler,
U.S. Marshal, Civil War officer, Minnesota territorial Librarian and secretary to two Governors, founder of Montana Historical Society, first in the West
*
Thomas Francis Meagher, Civil War
Brigadier General,
Acting Governor of the new
Territory of Montana*
Gary Cooper, actor
*
Myrna Loy, actress
*
Max Baucus,
U.S. Senator*
Walter A. Coslet, figure in
science fiction fandom and
Bible collecting*
L. Ron Hubbard, author and founder of the
Church of Scientology*
Bobby Petrino, current head
football coach at the
University of Louisville*
Colin Meloy, lead singer of the
Decemberists*
Steven Ambrose, historian, author of
Band of Brothers and
Undaunted Courage*
City of Helena web page*
Helena, Montana (Travel Montana)*
Lewis and Clark County web page*
Gulch Travel Guide for Helena, Montana*
Vintage Images of Helena, Montana*
Helena photos and information at Western Mining History
