Helena is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in the town of

Arena An arena is a large enclosed platform, often circular or oval-shaped, designed to showcase theatre, musical performances, or sporting events. It is composed of a large open space surrounded on most or all sides by tiered seating for spectators ...

in Iowa County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, United States. In the 19th century Helena was a village that played an important role in the manufacture and shipping of

lead shot Shot is a collective term for small spheres or pellets, often made of lead. These were the original projectiles for shotguns and are still fired primarily from shotguns and less commonly from riot guns and grenade launchers, although shot shells ...

. The buildings of Helena played a key role in the

Black Hawk War The Black Hawk War was a conflict between the United States and Native Americans led by Black Hawk, a Sauk leader. The war erupted after Black Hawk and a group of Sauks, Meskwakis (Fox), and Kickapoos, known as the "British Band", crosse ...

of 1832, despite being abandoned at the time.

History

Although always situated on the

Wisconsin River The Wisconsin River is a tributary of the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At approximately 430 miles (692 km) long, it is the state's longest river. The river's name, first recorded in 1673 by Jacques Marquette as "Meskousi ...

, Helena has existed in three different locations. The first village of Helena was staked out by

Henry Dodge Moses Henry Dodge (October 12, 1782 – June 19, 1867) was a Democratic member to the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, Territorial Governor of Wisconsin and a veteran of the Black Hawk War. His son, Augustus C. Dodge, served as a ...

as a river

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

convenient to recently discovered

lead Lead is a chemical element with the symbol Pb (from the Latin ) and atomic number 82. It is a heavy metal that is denser than most common materials. Lead is soft and malleable, and also has a relatively low melting point. When freshly cu ...

deposits around Dodgeville, Blue Mounds, and Mineral Point.Folkedahl, Beulah.
Forgotten Villages: Helena
. ''Wisconsin Magazine of History'', vol. 42 no. 4 (Summer 1959): 288-92. In 1831 Daniel Whitney, an entrepreneur from

Green Bay, Wisconsin Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...

, formed a company to build a

shot tower A shot tower is a tower designed for the production of small-diameter shot balls by free fall of molten lead, which is then caught in a water basin. The shot is primarily used for projectiles in shotguns, and for ballast, radiation shielding ...

on a nearby bluff. Helena was emptied during 1832 when most of its inhabitants joined militias to fight in the Black Hawk War. Following the

Battle of Wisconsin Heights The Battle of Wisconsin Heights was the penultimate engagement of the 1832 Black Hawk War, fought between the United States state militia and allies, and the Sauk and Fox tribes, led by Black Hawk. The battle took place in what is now Dane Coun ...

Black Hawk Black Hawk and Blackhawk may refer to: Animals * Black Hawk (horse), a Morgan horse that lived from 1833 to 1856 * Common black hawk, ''Buteogallus anthracinus'' * Cuban black hawk, ''Buteogallus gundlachii'' * Great black hawk, ''Buteogallus ur ...

and his allies fled across the Wisconsin River. To follow them the U.S. army under the command of Henry Atkinson marched and arrived in Helena on July 26, 1832. They tore down many of the buildings to make rafts. Approximately 1,300 men were ferried across the Wisconsin River at Helena over the next two days. They caught up with their opponents on August 1 and conclusively ended the war with the

Bad Axe Massacre The Bad Axe Massacre was a massacre of Sauk (Sac) and Fox Indians by United States Army regulars and militia that occurred on August 1–2, 1832. This final scene of the Black Hawk War took place near present-day Victory, Wisconsin in the Unit ...

. After the war Daniel Whitney and his company relocated the village of Helena a few miles to the northeast, adjacent to their

Helena Shot Tower Tower Hill State Park is a state park of Wisconsin, United States, which contains the reconstructed Helena Shot Tower. The original shot tower was completed in 1832 and manufactured lead shot until 1860. It was added to the National Register ...

. Other settlers joined the shot tower employees and the village grew. Helena reached its peak prosperity in the mid-1850s.Stark, William F. ''Wisconsin, River of History''. 1988. However a bridge was built across the river several miles upstream, and consequently the

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

was built through

Spring Green Spring green is a color that was traditionally considered to be on the yellow side of green, but in modern computer systems based on the RGB color model is halfway between cyan and green on the color wheel. The modern spring green, when plott ...

instead of Helena. The

Panic of 1857 The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Because of the invention of the telegraph by Samuel F. Morse in 1844, the Panic of 1857 was ...

further depressed Helena's economy. The town was moved again, to the northeast, to be along the rail line. However it did not flourish, and in the mid-1860s Helena had only 50 inhabitants.

Today

Remnants of Helena's second iteration are visible today in

Tower Hill State Park Tower Hill State Park is a state park of Wisconsin, United States, which contains the reconstructed Helena Shot Tower. The original shot tower was completed in 1832 and manufactured lead shot until 1860. It was added to the National Register ...

, including a reconstruction of the shot tower. The Old Helena Cemetery is across the road.

Notable residents

Owen King Owen Philip King (born February 21, 1977) is an American author and the younger son of authors Stephen and Tabitha King. Early life King was born in 1977 in Maine to parents Tabitha and Stephen King. He has two older siblings, Naomi King an ...

was a Helena lumber dealer who served as a member of the

Wisconsin State Assembly The Wisconsin State Assembly is the lower house of the Wisconsin Legislature. Together with the smaller Wisconsin Senate, the two constitute the legislative branch of the U.S. state of Wisconsin. Representatives are elected for two-year terms, ...

in the 1870s, first as a Reform Party member, then as a Greenbacker.

References

External links

General Henry Atkinson and The Black Hawk War of 1832 in Helena, WisconsinHelena, Wisconsin, Wisconsin Dictionary, Wisconsin State Historical SocietyPicturesque Helena, Wisconsin State Historical Society
{{authority control Black Hawk War Unincorporated communities in Iowa County, Wisconsin Unincorporated communities in Wisconsin

History

Today

Notable residents

References

Further reading

External links