East Helena, Montana
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East Helena is a city in Lewis and Clark County,
Montana Montana ( ) is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Idaho to the west, North Dakota to the east, South Dakota to the southeast, Wyoming to the south, an ...
, United States, approximately east of downtown Helena. The population was 1,944 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Helena Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Lewis and Clark and Jefferson counties; its population is 83,058 according to the 2020 Census.


History

In 1864 gold was discovered in a gulch off the Prickly Pear Creek. This led to the founding of a mining camp along a small creek in the area which the prospectors called "Last Chance Gulch". In 1876 Drumlummon Mine opened and it produced a rich bounty of gold and silver worth millions of dollars. In 1888, the Helena & Livingston Smelting & Reduction Company's smelter was built. Workers and their families moved to the area. The settlement officially became the town of East Helena in 1889. The
smelter Smelting is a process of applying heat and a chemical reducing agent to an ore to extract a desired base metal product. It is a form of extractive metallurgy that is used to obtain many metals such as iron, copper, silver, tin, lead and zin ...
plant operated from 1888 to 2001. It processed silver-lead ore. From 1927 to 1972, the Anaconda Company had a zinc recovery plant which supplied their Great Falls zinc refinery. In 1984 East Helena was declared a
Superfund Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...
Cleanup Site by the
United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...
. The lead and zinc smelting led to deposits of heavy metals, arsenic, and other hazardous chemicals in both the soil and water.


Geography

According to the
United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...
, the city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. East Helena is located in the Helena Valley, an area marked by the
Missouri River The Missouri River is a river in the Central United States, Central and Mountain states, Mountain West regions of the United States. The nation's longest, it rises in the eastern Centennial Mountains of the Bitterroot Range of the Rocky Moun ...
. The Big Belt Mountains are to the east. The Elkhorn Mountains and Boulder Hills are to the south. Several wilderness and recreation areas are around East Helena. Canyon Ferry Lake, east, is Montana's third largest body of water. The Gates of the Mountains Wilderness, north, is part of the
Helena National Forest Helena National Forest is located in west-central Montana, in the United States. Covering , the forest is broken into several separate sections. The eastern regions are dominated by the Big Belt Mountains, and are the location of the Gates of ...
. Lake Helena is north and Hauser Lake is north-east. Spring Meadow Lake State Park, east, features a man-made spring-fed lake.


Climate

According to the
Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...
system, East Helena has a
semi-arid climate A semi-arid climate, semi-desert climate, or steppe climate is a dry climate sub-type. It is located on regions that receive precipitation below potential evapotranspiration, but not as low as a desert climate. There are different kinds of se ...
, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.


Demographics


2010 census

As of the
census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...
of 2010, there were 1,984 people, 875 households, and 528 families living in the city. The
population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...
was . There were 916 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 91.0%
White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...
, 0.5%
African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 3.3% Native American, 0.3% Asian, 0.2%
Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...
, 0.4% from other races, and 4.3% from two or more races.
Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or Latino of any race were 3.6% of the population. There were 875 households, of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.7% were
married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 13.6% had a female householder with no husband present, 5.0% had a male householder with no wife present, and 39.7% were non-families. 32.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.27 and the average family size was 2.85. The median age in the city was 36.3 years. 22.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 9.3% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 28.6% were from 25 to 44; 26% were from 45 to 64; and 13.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 48.7% male and 51.3% female.


2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,642 people, 694 households, and 462 families living in the town. The population density was . There were 728 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the town was 94.70% White, 0.18% African American, 3.11% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.55% from other races, and 1.40% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.83% of the population. 22.3% were of
German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...
, 13.8% Irish, 12.8% Norwegian, 8.2% English, 6.1% American and 6.1% French ancestry according to Census 2000. There were 694 households, out of which 30.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.7% were married couples living together, 9.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.4% were non-families. 29.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.92. In the town, the population was spread out, with 25.2% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 29.8% from 25 to 44, 22.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.4 males. The median income for a household in the town was $31,071, and the median income for a family was $35,455. Males had a median income of $28,472 versus $19,828 for females. The
per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...
for the town was $15,893. About 7.5% of families and 8.6% of the population were below the
poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...
, including 15.7% of those under age 18 and 5.5% of those age 65 or over.


Arts and culture

East Helena is the location of the annual Independence Day celebration for the greater Helena area. It has been a tradition since 1957. The East Helena Rodeo Association celebrated 60 years of
rodeo Rodeo () is a competitive equestrian sport that arose out of the working practices of cattle herding in Spain and Mexico, expanding throughout the Americas and to other nations. It was originally based on the skills required of the working vaqu ...
competitions. The local chapter of the
Veterans of Foreign Wars The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), formally the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States Armed Forces, United States war veterans who fought in wars, Military campaign, campaig ...
spearheaded the creation of the rodeo grounds and produced the first rodeo. East Helena has a
public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...
, a branch of the Lewis & Clark Library.


Government

East Helena is a Mayor-council form of government. The elected mayor and the four elected councilmembers serve four year terms. The current mayor is Kelly Harris with a term ending on 31 December 2025.


Education

East Helena Public Schools, the unified K-12 school district for the community, educates students from pre-kindergarten to 12th grade. During the 2021–2022 school year, the district had a total of 1,739 students. There are five public schools in the town. Eastgate Elementary School has students who are pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. Prickly Pear Elementary School has 1st and 2nd grade students. Radley Elementary School covers 3rd through 5th grade. East Valley Middle School has students from 6th grade through 8th grade. East Helena High School is 9th to 12th grade.


Media

The newspaper covering news for East Helena is the ''Independent Record'' based in Helena. Three radio stations are licensed in East Helena. KGLZ is part of
Yellowstone Public Radio Yellowstone Public Radio is a public radio regional network based in Billings, Montana with transmitters covering most of Montana, as well as northern Wyoming and eastern Idaho. It is operated by Montana State University Billings. It airs a ...
. KJPZ is owned by Hi-Line Radio Fellowship and broadcasts a Christian format. The AM station KKGR airs a classic hits music format.


Infrastructure

US Route 12/ Montana Highway 287 travels east to west through East Helena. Nearly the entire town is on the northern side of the highway. Highway 282 exits town toward the south. East Helena is served by
Helena Regional Airport Helena Regional Airport is a public airport two miles northeast of Helena, in Lewis and Clark County, Montana, United States. It is owned by the Helena Regional Airport Authority. The National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2011–201 ...
.


References


External links

* {{Lewis and Clark County, Montana Cities in Lewis and Clark County, Montana Helena, Montana micropolitan area Cities in Montana