Victorian Millionaire Homes

Sunday, August 7, 2016

Today is our last one in Helena and we drive around the Mansion District of Helena viewing the many old millionaire homes and others that can be seen on the hills of the city.  Here are more very large old homes than we have ever seen in one city in all our travels over the last few years.  Many are for sale here as in other places as the cost of renovating and keeping up these homes is quite expensive.  Some have been made into Bed and Breakfasts and I’m sure are interesting places to stay.

Caroll College, an over 100 year old private Catholic College located here in Helena, is a liberal arts and preprofessional college which was founded in 1909.  The original building below sits high atop the hill overlooking the valley below.  What a view!

As in many other towns we visit, Ron and I visit the oldest cemetery here (Benton Avenue Cemetery established in 1870) as well.   There are usually some old mausoleums and headstones and we are always curious to see how old some of them are and if there are any quirky epitaphs.  We are not disappointed here.  This was a nonsectarian Protestant burial ground where many prominent pioneer Helenans were buried but was little used after 1900.  In 2003 it became listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

One of the headstones has an epitaph which reads,

                                    Here he lies

                                    His life cut short

                                    His death avenged

Wonder what the story is there?

One of the interesting things I learned in my reading about this cemetery is that the ironwork fences around the many family graves (very customary in the 1800’s) were not removed during World War II to be used for the war effort as it was in many other places in the U.S. 

Signing off until we reach Butte.  

A Ghost Town Named Marysville

Saturday, August 6, 2016

Up the road north and west from Helena is the old mining town of Marysville.  Ron and I always enjoy seeing these old places and imagining what it was like to have lived there in the town’s hey day.

In 1876, a Thomas Cruse discovered gold and named the town after his hometown of Drumlummon Ireland.  Later it was thought that he renamed the town after the first woman who arrived in the town, Mary Ralston.  In the 1880s and 1890s Marysville was a bustling mining town of three thousand residents, and was the center of gold mining in Montana.  The total gold production from the Mine is thought to have been $50,000,000.  Today Marysville is a ghost town with a few residents.   

Overview of Marysville

We spent time driving up and down the old dirt streets where a few residents were out doing weekly outside chores and some work was being done on several buildings in town.  There is a local restaurant in town but it was closed this early in the day.

Town Buildings

Houses and a Barn

Old vehicles

There are numerous other ghost towns within driving distance of Helena, but our time here is almost up so it will have to wait for another time.  

Cathedral of St. Helena and Helena Buildings

Thursday, August 4, 2016

Helena is a beautiful city with so much history and so many old and historic buildings and homes.  One of the most beautiful buildings that stands out in the city is the Cathedral of St. Helena which was patterned after the renowned Votive Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Vienna, Austria with two 230 foot spires topped by two six foot wide and twelve feet tall gold crosses that dominate the skyline.  It was completed in 1914. 

Front doors 

The impressive interior features 59 Munich-style stained glass panels that were crafted in Germany by a renowned artist.  Thirty-seven of the windows tell the story from the fall of Adam and Eve to the church in the early years of the 20th century.

The space is dominated by beautiful Carrara marble columns with gold trim and the altar is flanked on either side by huge organ pipes with gold iron gratings behind the altar.  Each of the Stations of the Cross is in what appears to also be marble and are lit from behind.  The ceilings too are magnificent.  

A View Down Center Aisle

Center Altar Area 

right Side Altar= Notice Ceiling

Left Side Altar

Note Organ Pipes
Other half is on other side of center aisle.

Station of the Cross

As we leave the Cathedral for Last Chance Gulch, we suddenly spy this cute little deer wondering down the street.

Before taking the Last Chance Tour Train, we take a walk down Last Chance Gulch Street where prospectors took "one last chance" that paid off in 1864.  The city grew along this gulch and today this historic mile is filled with Victorian era buildings now filled with shops, offices art galleries and restaurants. Several blocks have been closed to traffic though the Last Chance Tour Train does drive up the middle of the street here. 

Fountain showing prospectors panning for gold.

This restored traolley used to be pulled by horses.

We also saw these two murals.

Our last sightseeing for the day was spent on the Last Chance Tour Train for an hour around the city with narration by the engineer of the train about the various buildings and areas of town.

I picked up this guy on the Train

We pass both the current Governor's residence in a modest neighborhood and the old Governor's Mansion which we toured yesterday.  Note what looks like the bow of a ship on the one side of the new residence.

Though we had already taken a drive around a good part of the historic part of the city, it was interesting the learn more of the history of what we had seen.