DescriptionMount Helena stands out as a grand, dramatic backdrop for the city from which it takes its name. Since picnickers first enjoyed its quiet refuge during mining camp days, Mount Helena has served the community in various ways. First, miners searched in vain for its minerals. Settlers next stripped its slopes of timber and quarried its limestone. In 1883, residents by the hundreds trekked up the mountainside to watch the first trains smoking slowly westward across the valley to Helena. Then, on November 12, 1894, a huge bonfire at the summit lit the night sky, confirming Helena’s victory as state capital. Near the twentieth century’s turn, forest fires further denuded the near-barren mountain. A city park was proposed in 1898, and on Arbor Day 1899, Helena schoolchildren armed with baskets of evergreen seedlings hiked the lightning-scorched slopes and planted trees. On July 4, 1904, residents dedicated the 700-acre park, and in 1906 the USFS donated 30,000 pine and fir seedlings for planting the hillsides laid bare by logging and fire. Today the city’s century-old invitation still stands: “Do not deny yourself the health and pleasure of the delightful walk. Go all and go often.” Mount Helena Historic District is listed in the Historic Register. Contributing InstitutionMontana Historical Society Library and ArchivesGeolocation[1] Elevation5433 ft. CountyLewis and Clark County
