Over the years, the image of the firetower has been used on postcards, parking tokens, belt buckles, and much more...

Fire plagued Helena in its early days. Wooden buildings huddled together, and a lack of abundant water, made stopping fires once they got started very difficult. Several huge fires in the 1870s were particularly horrific, wiping out much of the central business district and many homes.

It should be remembered that, during those pre-railroad days, nearly all supplies had to be freighted overland into Helena from either the head of navigation on the Missouri River at Fort Benton, 130 miles to the north, or, beginning in 1869, along the Montana Trail from the Union Pacific Railway at Corinne, Utah, 400 miles to the south. It could take months to replace needed materials after a fire, and at no small expense.

A watchtower overlooking Last Chance Gulch was first built on the west side of "Catholic Hill" in the early 1870s. The one pictured above, which was taller and included a shelter on top, was built in 1874. In 1871, an 1864 Gould Manufacturing Co. bell salvaged from the wrecked Missouri River sidewheeler "Tacony" was hung in the new tower (that bell is pictured above), replacing a large iron triangle which had been used to sound the alarm.

Read the Original Construction Contract
for the Fire Tower (.doc file)
Courtesy of Sean Logan

Tower Hill was used during the 1870s and 1880s for launching fireworks displays during Forth of July celebrations, which seems against good fire prevention practices.

On May 1 1878, a telephone was installed in the tower, making it possible for the watchman to instantly alert firefighters in the Clore St. (Park Avenue) station and give them directions.

In 1886, the city ordered a larger bell from the Jones Bell Company of Troy, New York. It weighed in at 2,121 lbs., and cost approximately $12,200 in today's money. The tower had to be reinforced to support the bell. The orginal bell, from the steamboat Tacony, was sold to the City Of Great Falls, and moved there.

In 1889, an electric Gamewell alarm box system was installed in Helena, making the bell in the tower obsolete for all but tolling the juvenile curfew hour. The Gamewell system was in operation until 1956, and was at the time one of the oldest in the state.

The Fire Tower has been repaired and restored several times over the years. The 1935 earthquakes damaged it, so the huge 1886 bell was taken down and put on display in front of the A-A Garage on South Main until 1939, when it was placed back in the tower.

In 1939, the 1864 "Tacony" bell was returned to Helena, and installed in the tower, along with the 1886 bell.

In 1950, a lightning fire weakened the structure so badly that both bells, which were then more or less just being stored in the tower, were removed.

Photos courtesy of Sean Logan, with special thanks to Parks Director Amy Teegarden and Parks Superintendent Rich Lynd.

Pictured above are the first Fire Tower bell, salvaged from the 1864 steamboat Tacony, and the 1886 bespoke bell from the Jones Troy Bell Foundry, Troy, New York.

The bell from the Tacony now hangs in the Fire Tower, while the larger 1886 bell is mounted in front of the Hannaford Street fire station. Both bells have had interesting journeys.

The bell from the Tacony was cast by Gould's Manufacturing Co., in Seneca Falls, New York. The site of Gould's plant is now beneath the waters of Van Cleef Lake, created in 1914-15 by damming the actual falls that gave Seneca Falls its name.

The Troy, New York foundry went out of business about 1887, soon after Helena's bell was cast.

The bell was placed on display in front of Otto Krieg's A-A Garage until damage to the tower caused by the 1935 earthquakes could be repaired. In 1939, the bell was returned to the tower. It was taken down permanently in 1950, after a lightning-caused fire weakened the tower...

Fire Tower and Related Links

Click here for the pdf format story of the 1864 sidewheeler "Tacony" bell.

Click here for the pdf format story of the giant 1886 bell.

Click here for an 1881 pdf format newspaper article about Helena firefighters' preparedness, and what it took to move an engine in the days of steam and horses.

Click here for a 1920 pdf format newspaper article about the Fire Tower.

Click here for a 1962 pdf format newspaper article about the Fire Tower, by Al Gaskill, "The Man in the Brown Derby".