Famously ill-fated aviatrix Amelia Earhart stayed overnight in Helena on January 29-30, 1933. She spoke briefly to a crowd at the airport, then attended a banquet at the Placer Hotel. She stayed overnight at 700 Power St., the home of Helena airport commissioner Fred Sheriff.

Helena was a stopover on a Northwest Airways survey flight, proving the feasibility of passenger transport over the Rockies from Minneapolis - St. Paul, Minnesota, to Seattle, Washington. Earhart traveled as a celebrity passenger as far as Spokane. The plane was a Ford Tri-motor. For more about this flight, please go here.