Helena, Montana was founded as a gold camp during the Montana gold rush, and established on this day in 1864. Due to the gold rush, Helena became a wealthy city, with approximately 50 millionaires inhabiting the area by 1888. The concentration of wealth contributed to the city’s prominent, elaborate Victorian architecture.
Gold strikes in Idaho Territory in the early 1860s attracted many migrants who initiated major gold rushes at Grasshopper Creek (Bannack) and Alder Gulch (Virginia City) in 1862 and 1863 respectively. So many people came that the federal government created a new territory called Montana, carved out of Idaho Territory, in May 1864.
On July 14, 1864, the discovery of gold by a prospecting party known as the “Four Georgians” in a gulch off the Prickly Pear Creek led to the founding of a mining camp along a small creek in the area they called “Last Chance Gulch”. In 1876, Thomas Cruse, a prospector of Irish descent, discovered a massive gold deposit in the mountains, northwest of Helena. He soon filed a mining patent on 20.25 acres and opened the famous Drumlummon Mine which produced a rich bounty of gold and silver.
By fall of 1864, the population had grown to over 200, and some thought the name “Last Chance” was too crass. On October 30, 1864, a group of at least seven self-appointed men met to name the town, authorize the layout of the streets, and elect commissioners. The first suggestion was “Tomah”, a word the committee thought had connections to the local Indian people. Other nominations included Pumpkinville and Squashtown[26] (as the meeting was held the day before Halloween). Finally, a Scotsman, John Summerville, proposed Helena, which he pronounced /həˈliːnə/ hə-LEE-nə, in honor of Helena Township, Scott County, Minnesota. This immediately caused an uproar from the former Confederates in the room, who insisted upon the pronunciation /ˈhɛlɪnə/ HEL-i-nə, after Helena, Arkansas, a town on the Mississippi River.
It is estimated about $3.6 billion in today’s money was extracted from Helena during this period of time. The Last Chance Placer is one of the most famous placer deposits in the western United States. Most of the production occurred before 1868. Much of the placer is now under Helena’s streets and buildings.
Helena has been the capital of Montana Territory since 1875 and the state of Montana since 1889. Referendums were held in 1892 and 1894 to determine the state’s capital; the result was to keep the capitol in Helena. At the 2020 census Helena’s population was 32,091, making it the 5th least populous state capital in the United States and the 6th most populous city in Montana.
Montana’s Original Governor’s Mansion
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Today is the birthday, in 1969, of American singer-songwriter Grace Slick from Jefferson Airplane, Starship. She was a prominent figure in San Francisco’s psychedelic music scene during the mid-1960s to the early 1970s, with Slick providing vocals on several iconic songs, including ‘Somebody to Love’, ‘White Rabbit’, ‘We Built This City’ and ‘Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now’. Between 1985 and 1999, Slick was the oldest female vocalist on a Billboard Hot 100 chart-topping single. ‘We Built This City’ reached No.1 on November 16, 1985, shortly after her 46th birthday. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WANNqr-vcx0
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