In 1888,
a large lead smelter was built on the banks of Prickly Pear
Creek in the Helena Valley by the Helena and Livingston Lead
Smelting Company. In 1898, the American Smelting and Refining
Company (ASARCO) purchased the 160 acre site. ASARCO operated
the smelter until 2001.
East Helena
grew up around that enterprise. For over a century, the smelter
processed 70,000 tons of lead bullion a year, and provided a
livelihood for thousands of families. It also produced untold
tons of toxic contaminants.
In 1984,
the Environmental Protection Agency named East Helena as a Superfund
cleanup site. ASARCO smelting operations were suspended in 2001.
In November
of 2007, the Independent Record presented the ASARCO
story. Click
here to access the archived feature.
On August
14, 2009, the ASARCO stacks were felled by dynamite charges,
an emotional step in cleaning up the smelter site.
Looking
West on Main Street, ca. 1900
COLLECTION
OF KENNON BAIRD
Mount
Helena is in the distance, and the streetcar from Helena is
on the tracks. Many of the buildings on the left were destroyed
by the fire of 1919 (scroll down for the fire story).
Circa
1900 Views of the ASARCO Smelter
COLLECTION OF KENNON BAIRD • CLICK ON IMAGE
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ASARCO
Smelter at Night, 1920s
COURTESY
OF TOM KILMER • CLICK ON IMAGE FOR A BIG
VERSION IN A NEW WINDOW
Smelter
Stack Maintenance, 1946
COLLECTION
OF WES AND CAROL SYNNESS
Small souvenir
lead ingot from the East Helena ASARCO Smelter, date unknown.
Small souvenir
lead ingot from the East Helena ASARCO Smelter, 1960s.
Ca. 1900 advertising
pocket mirror from the
Anderson & Steckler General Mercantile , East Helena.
East
Helena Fire, August 19 1919
Perhaps started
by a carelessly discarded cigarette, the blaze of Aug. 19, 1919
ravaged East Helena's small business district...
Main St., East Helena, 1947
COURTESY OF SEAN LOGAN • CLICK ON IMAGE
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1943 Military Honor Roll Memorial
in Main Street Park
c.1947
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Designed by Robert Lewis Keck (1918-1987), the 1943 memorial was remodeled in 1980, adding the names of Korea and Viet Nam veterans. It was replaced by the current expanded memorial in 2019. The two eagles are still there.
For many years, designer Robert Keck was mapping supervisor for the Montana Depatment of Highways.
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The Don Theater, November 1946
KENNON BAIRD COLLECTION • CLICK ON IMAGE
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East Helena Drug, April 1957
Pictured below in the white smock is Katherine P. Willis (1913-1983), proprietor of East Helena Drug. With her are Chevrolet representatives from Billings, along with Bernice and George Mougeot of Helena, on the right. They are posing with the new Chevrolet won by Bernice in a national contest. Please see the newspaper item below for details.
In 1949, Katherine "Kay" Willis, along with Elaine Hoover and Bob Knutson, purchased the drug store from Ethel Richardson. Willis operated it until 1974, selling out to Steve Hinkle. Willis committed suicide at her Lake Drive home in 1983, by overdosing on pentobarbital. She was 70.
COURTESY OF SEAN LOGAN • CLICK ON IMAGE
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Two
Views of the East Helena Public School, Early 1900s
and an Enameled Souvenir Spoon
COURTESY OF PAM ATTARDO
Remodeled
and Expanded East Helena Public School, 1940s
Infamous
Speed Trap
When Highway
287 was the main street of East Helena, the city was notorious
as a speed trap. This badge was a familiar sight to many hard-traveling
motorists who failed to brake quickly enough from 75 to 25 mph.
