William Lorey Jr.
Pioneer Sign Painter & Decorator
1849-1910

William Lorey's Shop at 126 South Main St., 1899

COURTESY OF THE COLLEEN KESTERSON FAMILY COLLECTION
CLICK ON IMAGE TO ENLARGE IN A NEW WINDOW

This substantial three-story building was apparently destroyed by the 1935 earthquakes. It last appears on Sanborn Insurance Maps of Helena in 1930.

 

 

1885 Biography

 

1899 City Directory Ad

Lorey's 1883 "Daily and Weekly Herald" Sign
107 Broadway

COURTESY OF THE CHARLES J. TIPTON COLLECTION

 

Death at Warm Springs

 

Obituary in the St. Louis Westlich Post
German Language Newspaper

 

Sons in the Business

By 1906, William Lorey & Sons moved from 126 S. Main St. to 28 Edwards St. at Park Ave., on a site now occupied by a parking lot on the west side of the DoubleTree Hotel. William's son, Charles, was active in the Helena signpainting business for many years, with a shop at 312 N. Jackson St..