World United States Montana Helena

Hastings Travel Experiences Jim and Barbara Go to Yellowstone and More

History in Helena Aug 19, 2011

Day 35 In morning we toured the Montana Capital. It’s very pretty with lots of stained glass and a copper dome. Because the climate is dry here, the copper is dark gray instead of the characteristic copper green. We found out that marble columns were really plaster and hollow to allow for the wiring and pipes of the building. Our tour guide was a college student who just returned for North Carolina where she visited graduate schools to study modern world history. Trivia: Montana’s state capitol was the first in the country to be build with installed electricity along with indoor plumbing, hot/cold water, and central heat. It was a race with Colorado which was building at the same time who would be first. Montana won by a few months. The Montana History Museum was very good with a large display of Indian artifacts and beadwork. Also included was beadwork since 2000. The young people still decorate their clothing for pow-wows with beads. Interesting was the Converse high tops the dancers wear because the floors are too hard in building to do the Indian dances barefooted. Trivia: The oddest item I saw was an old Indian, boy’s umbilical cord bag. It held the umbilical cord and the male child wore it while growing up. Presumably it was discarded at adulthood. There was also a large collection of Charlie Russell’s work. See an earlier entry about Russell. We toured Last Chance Gulch which is a really big street in Helena. It has a walking mall for several blocks. Some neat shops and restaurants, some night stops and some businesses. We think the economy has hurt it because of the number of empty store fronts. Lunch was at a little sidewalk crepe shop. Yum-yum.

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