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;152 MONTANA-1916 • 



• „_ • 



East Helena is a considerable town which is connected with Helena by an electric 

 railway and two steam railroads. 



Stock growing has been a leading Industry from early days and the fattening 

 of beef cattle in the Prickly Pear valley for shipment to distant markets, is a 

 branch of the business that is becoming important. 



The chief agricultural districts are in the valleys of the Prickly Pear and 

 Missouri rivers near Helena and in the northern part of the county from the Dear- 

 born to the Sun River. Farming development has been stimulated in the Augusta 

 neighborhood by the construction of a railroad from Great Palls, and in the country 

 near Helena by the recent completion of a large irrigation project. Much land, in 

 what is known as the Helena valley, is also farmed by non-irrigated methods. Fruits' 

 also grow successfully and several orchards have been set out. Soil and climate 

 conditions are favorable for the Prickly Pear valley becoming a great fruit district; 

 For farm products of all kinds, especially for vegetables and for fruits, the city of 

 Helena and the adjacent mining camps will provide markets, the local production at) 

 present falling far below the local demands. 



The enormous power that is generated at the electric power plants on the 

 Missouri river is used in part to pump water from Hauser Lake to irrigate about 

 30,000 acres of land within a few miles of Helena. The agricultural development of 

 the country near Helena, caused both by the extension of cultivation of unirrigated 

 lands and by the large increase in the acres under irrigation, promises to be rapid. 

 In the past three years, many new settlers who have gone into the northern part of 

 the county and have broken and planted many acres of raw land; older settlers have 

 increased the number of acres under cultivation on their farms, and this part of 

 Lewis and Clark county will soon become a very productive farming district. 



Helena, the county seat, is the capital of Montana and is a commercial, 

 financial and political center. The population, in 1910, was 12,515. It is an at- 

 tractive place of residence and is said to be the richest city per capita in the 

 United States. The total resources of the banks of Helena are more than $1,000 

 per capita. Costly private residences and large business blocks testify to the wealth 

 of the inhabitants. 



Helena is the center of many religious activities. The Episcopal Bishop of 

 Montana, the Bishop of the Methodist church, the Bishop of the Roman Catholic 

 diocese of Helena, and official leaders of other denominations reside in the city. 

 Hospitals, asylums and benevolent institutions are numerous. It is an educational 

 center having an excellent public school system, and many denominational schools. 

 By the aid of friends in Helena and at other places a large endowment fund has 

 been raised for the Montana Wesleyan University, a long established institution 

 which has secured handsome grounds, not far from the Capitol, upon which will be 

 erected a group of fine buildings. The Deaconess School for young children, is a 

 useful institution which is located a few miles from the city. The Catholic church 

 has parochial schools, graded schools for boys and girls, a high school occupying a 

 $500,000 building; St. Vincent's Academy, a school for girls, conducted by the Sisters 

 of Charity, which has been in existence for many years and has a large attendance; 

 and Mt. St. Charles College, for boys, which was opened in 1911, and has splendid 

 buildings. One of the most beautiful churcli buildings in America is the new St. 

 Helena Cathedral recently completed. 



The capitol, a splendid building costing $1,100,000 contains the offices of various 

 state executive officials, the Supreme Court, and the chambers of the two branches of 

 the legislative assembly. The Montana State Fair is held every year on grounds 

 near the city and is attended by many thousand visitors. The federal courts meet 

 in Helena and the chief federal officers for the state have offices in the city. A 



