Editing Helena, Montana (section)

===Early European settlement and gold rush===
[[File:Helena mo 1870.jpg|thumb|left|Helena, Montana in 1870]]
By the early 1800s, people of European descent from the [[United States]] and British [[Canada]] began arriving to work the streams of the Missouri River watershed looking for fur-bearing animals such as the [[beaver]], undoubtedly bringing them through the area now known as the Helena Valley.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Holmes|first1=Krys|title=Montana : stories of the land|date=2008|publisher=Montana Historical Society Press|location=Helena, MT|pages=80–89|url=http://svcalt.mt.gov/education/textbook/Chapter5/Chapter5.pdf |chapter=Chap. 5, Beaver, Bison, and Black Robes: Montana's Fur Trade, 1800-1860 |access-date=February 20, 2014}}</ref>

Gold strikes in [[Idaho Territory]] in the early 1860s attracted many migrants who initiated major [[gold rush]]es at Grasshopper Creek ([[Bannack, Montana|Bannack]]) and [[Alder Gulch]] ([[Virginia City, Montana|Virginia City]]) in 1862 and 1863 respectively. So many people came that the federal government created a new territory called [[Montana Territory|Montana]] in May 1864. The miners prospected far and wide for new [[Placer mining|placer]] gold discoveries. 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".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Baumler|first1=Ellen|title=Helena, The Town That Gold Built: The First 150 Years|date=2014|publisher=HPNbooks|location=San Antonio, TX|pages=6–7}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=October 28, 2019|title=The city of Helena, Montana, is founded after miners discover gold|url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-city-of-helena-montana-is-founded-after-miners-discover-gold|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190327184437/https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/the-city-of-helena-montana-is-founded-after-miners-discover-gold|archive-date=March 27, 2019 |website=History.com |access-date=2020-07-15}}</ref><ref name="History of Helena - Helena College">{{Cite web|title=History of Helena - Catalog - Helena College|url=http://www.helenacollege.edu/catalog/helenahistory.aspx#:~:text=The%20%E2%80%9CFour%20Georgians%E2%80%9D%20originally%20named,United%20States%20territory%20in%201864. |publisher=Helena College |access-date=2020-07-15}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last1=Bradbury|first1=Mary Jane |last2=Shields |first2=Mike |last3=Jacobson |first3=Hal
|title=Nuggets from Helena: Reflecting on 153 years of Helena history |url=https://helenair.com/news/local/nuggets-from-helena-reflecting-on-153-years-of-helena-history/article_061752c0-46ee-5c73-b6e0-a814a92e59b5.html |date=January 3, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716045852/https://helenair.com/news/local/nuggets-from-helena-reflecting-on-153-years-of-helena-history/article_061752c0-46ee-5c73-b6e0-a814a92e59b5.html |archive-date= July 16, 2020 |website=[[Independent Record]] |location=Helena, Montana |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Pardee |first1=Joseph |last2=Schrader |first2=F.C. |title=Metalliferous deposits of the greater Helena mining region, Montana, USGS Bulletin 842 |url=https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/0842/report.pdf |website=USGS Publications Warehouse |publisher=USGS |access-date=20 May 2021 |page=183 |date=1933}}</ref> In the 1870s, a Pennsylvania brick and stone mason named Louis Reeder built Reeder's Alley. It is a strong link to the beginnings of the settlement. He invested in the lots along then Cutler Street (now known as Reeder's Alley) and between 1872 and 1884 built over 30 brick and stone one-room tenements for miners.<ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |title=Welcome to the Alley |url=https://reedersalley.com/ |website=Reeder's Alley |publisher=Montana Department of Commerce |access-date=19 Feb 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |title=Reeder's Alley |url=https://www.reedersalley.com/History/index |website=Reeder's Alley |publisher=Montana Department of Commerce |access-date=19 Feb 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |title=Reeder's Alley Helena Historic District|url=https://historicmt.org/items/show/9 |website=Reeder's Alley Helena Historic District |publisher=The Montana National Register Sign Program |access-date=19 Feb 2025}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |author=<!-- not stated --> |title=Reeder's Alley Helena Historic District|url=https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=187378 |website=Reeder's Alley Helena Historic District |publisher=[[Historical Marker Database]] |access-date=19 Feb 2025}}</ref>
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 worth millions of dollars.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Thomas Cruse: Early Montana Prospector, Mine Owner, and Entrepreneur |url=https://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/8498 |access-date=2023-05-15}}</ref>

[[File:Birds-eye view of Helena, Montana 1875. LOC 75694669.tif|thumb|[[Panoramic map]] of Helena from 1875 with some statistics sites listed]]
By fall of 1864, the population had grown to over 200, and some thought the name "Last Chance" 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<ref>{{Cite web|title=History|url=https://helenachamber.com/history/|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716034748/https://helenachamber.com/history/|archive-date=2020-07-16 |publisher=Helena Area Chamber & Visitor Center |access-date=2020-07-16}}</ref> (as the meeting was held the day before [[Halloween]]). Other suggestions were to name the community after various [[Minnesota]] towns, such as Winona and Rochester, as a number of settlers had come from Minnesota. Finally, a Scotsman, John Summerville, proposed ''Helena'', which he pronounced {{IPAc-en|h|ə|ˈ|l|iː|n|ə}} {{respell|hə|LEE|nə}},<ref>{{Cite news|date=September 15, 2015|title=Montana Pronunciation Guide|work=[[Billings Gazette]] |url=https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/the-montana-pronunciation-guide/collection_6f193e5b-b011-53f0-9227-12bc0c4c4967.html|url-status=live|access-date=July 25, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190831022850/https://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/the-montana-pronunciation-guide/collection_6f193e5b-b011-53f0-9227-12bc0c4c4967.html|archive-date=August 31, 2019}}</ref> in honor of [[Helena Township, Scott County, Minnesota]]. This immediately caused an uproar from the former [[Confederate States of America|Confederates]] in the room, who insisted upon the pronunciation {{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɛ|l|ᵻ|n|ə}} {{respell|HEL|i-nə}}, after [[Helena, Arkansas]], a town on the [[Mississippi River]]. While the name "Helena" won, the pronunciation varied until approximately 1882 when the {{IPAc-en|ˈ|h|ɛ|l|ᵻ|n|ə}} {{respell|HEL|i-nə}} pronunciation became dominant. Later tales of the naming of Helena claimed the name came from the island of [[Saint Helena|St. Helena]], where Napoleon was exiled, or was that of a miner's sweetheart.<ref>Palmer, Tom. "Naming Helena",  ''Helena: The Town and the People,'' Helena, MT: American Geographic Publishing, 1987, pp 20, 22, 28-31</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Helena Area Chamber of Commerce|url=https://www.visitmt.com/listings/general/chamber-of-commerce/helena-area-chamber-of-commerce.html|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200718164545/https://www.visitmt.com/listings/general/chamber-of-commerce/helena-area-chamber-of-commerce.html|archive-date=July 18, 2020 |website=Visit Montana |access-date=2020-07-16}}</ref>

Helena was surveyed by Captain John Wood in 1865 for the first time. The original streets of Helena followed the paths of miners, thus making the city blocks of Early Helena various sizes and shapes.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Plat of the Town Site of Helena As entered at the U.S. Land Office. Lewis & Clarke Co. M.T. Drawn by A.F.L. August 7th 1882.|url=https://exhibits.stanford.edu/mining/catalog/wk526st2673|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200719190157/https://exhibits.stanford.edu/mining/catalog/wk526st2673|archive-date=July 19, 2020 |website=Mining Maps and Views - Spotlight at Stanford |access-date=2020-07-16}}</ref>

In 1870, [[Henry D. Washburn]], having been appointed Surveyor General of Montana in 1869, organized the [[Washburn-Langford-Doane Expedition]] in Helena to explore the regions that would become [[Yellowstone National Park]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=September 17, 2019|title=Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service)|url=https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/historyculture/expeditions.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716151718/https://www.nps.gov/yell/learn/historyculture/expeditions.htm|archive-date=July 16, 2020 |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |access-date=2020-07-16}}</ref> [[Mount Washburn]], within the park, is named for him. Members of the expedition included Helena residents:<ref>{{Cite web|date=March 19, 2020|title=Yellowstone National Park - Plant and animal life|url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Yellowstone-National-Park|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200720024255/https://www.britannica.com/place/Yellowstone-National-Park|archive-date=July 20, 2020|website=Encyclopedia Britannica |access-date=2020-07-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=February 27, 2020|title=Yellowstone Park established|url=https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/yellowstone-park-established|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191102181939/https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/yellowstone-park-established|archive-date=November 2, 2019 |website=History.com |access-date=2020-07-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=June 17, 2020|title=The Superintendents &ndash; Nathaniel Langford - Yellowstone National Park (U.S. National Park Service)|url=https://www.nps.gov/yell/blogs/the-superintendents-nathaniel-langford.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302063936/https://www.nps.gov/yell/blogs/the-superintendents-nathaniel-langford.htm|archive-date=March 2, 2020 |publisher=U.S. National Park Service |access-date=2020-07-16}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|date=February 27, 2020|title=Yellowstone National Park: Its Exploration and Establishment|url=https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/haines1/iee4.htm|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190710004118/https://www.nps.gov/parkhistory/online_books/haines1/iee4.htm|archive-date=July 10, 2019 |publisher=United States National Park Service |access-date=July 25, 2020}}</ref>

*[[Truman C. Everts]], former U.S. Assessor for the Montana Territory
*Cornelius Hedges, U.S. Attorney of the Montana Territory
*[[Samuel T. Hauser]], president of the First National Bank, Helena, Montana; later a Governor of the Montana Territory
*Warren C. Gillette, Helena merchant
*[[Walter Trumbull]], son of U.S. Senator [[Lyman Trumbull]] (Illinois)
*[[Nathaniel P. Langford]], then former U.S. Collector of Internal Revenue for Montana Territory. Langford helped Washburn organize the expedition and later helped publicize the remarkable Yellowstone region. In May 1872 after the park was established, Langford was appointed by the Department of Interior as its first superintendent.