East Helena

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. On August 19, 1919, a fire destroyed much of the town. The smelter 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 Cleanup Site by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. 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 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 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. Lake Helena is north and Hauser Lake is north-east. Spring Meadow Lake State Park, east, features a man-made spring-fed lake. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, East Helena has a semi-arid climate, abbreviated "BSk" on climate maps.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black-billed Magpie

  Pica hudsonia (Sabine, 1823) · Aves
  11,560
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  9,433
• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  8,949
• Common Raven

  Corvus corax Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  8,880
• Northern Flicker

  Colaptes auratus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  8,336
• Canada Goose (canadensis Group)

  Branta canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  7,628
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  6,949
• House Finch

  Haemorhous mexicanus (P.L.Statius Müller, 1776) · Aves
  6,612

Most recent

• M 3 — 2026-04-27
  16 km ESE of Butte, Montana
• M 2.8 — 2026-04-26
  19 km S of Lincoln, Montana
• M 3.2 — 2025-12-09
  12 km NNW of Avon, Montana
• M 2.7 — 2025-07-26
  18 km W of Whitehall, Montana
• M 2.5 — 2025-03-20
  23 km SSE of Craig, Montana
• M 2.7 — 2025-03-09
  3 km ENE of Helena, Montana