Schools

Stereoview of the first Central School, 402 North Warren, ca.1878. It was the first graded public school in Montana, established in 1876.

Stereoview of a Helena classroom (presumably Central School), ca. 1875.

Central School, ca. 1908

The current Central School, built in 1915 and expanded in 1921. This photo probably predates the 1935 earthquakes. COLLECTION OF NANCY GOODSPEED

Central School, before 1935, with Helena High School in the background. COLLECTION OF NANCY GOODSPEED

Central School playgrond, late 1940s. THE WES AND CAROL SYNNESS COLLECTION

St. Vincent's Academy, the Catholic High School for girls. Built in the 1880s, it stood on S. Ewing across from the first St. John's Hospital.

Ms. Sidney Armstong of Helena writes:
"St. Vincent's Academy was the Catholic high school for girls only. My mother (born in 1910), attended St. Vincent's. It had boarding students as well as day students. The boys went to St. Charles prep school, which was on the St. Charles College (now Carroll College) campus. In those days, a number of students did not go on beyond elementary school."

Thanks, Sidney!

An account of the 1935 earthquake which damaged St. Vincent's beyond repair, by former student Betty Sager:
"In 1935 I was a student at St. Vincent's Academy--that was the Catholic School that was condemned after the quake. I can still remember the scary feeling we all had at the time. We were in a dormitory on the 2nd floor. I remember looking out the window and everything was a bright blue color.

You can imagine the panic of 50 or so girls. Sister said, "Now we will stay in our beds and say the rosary. Everyone settle down and lay quietly."

When we were finally allowed to get out of bed, we put on our robes, and were led downstairs. A lot of the stairs were damaged so we had to slide down the banister. What fun! We spent the night on the lawn with many blankets.

As the building was condemned (I'm not sure how many days passed), I was sent back to my family in Anaconda. I still get that panicky feeling when a train goes by or I feel another quake."

-From the excellent University of Utah Seismology website

The St. Helena Grade School on N. Warren, adjacent to St. Helena Cathedral. Contracted in 1908 by Bishop John Carroll and designed by architect Von Herbulis, who also designed the Cathedral.

In 2002, the Helena Diocese announced its intentions to demolish the historic St. Helena School, but has postponed doing so. The school appeared on the Montana Preservation Alliance’s list of most endangered places in 2002.

A history of the School from a 2002 Independent Record story by Martin J. Kidston:

Monsignor Victor Day, rector of the cathedral, dedicated the school on Sept. 7, 1909. The Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth staffed the school and classes began the next day.

The building served as a grade school until 1936. At the time, girls attended high school at St. Vincent’s Academy while boys attended Mount St. Charles High School.

But a 1935 earthquake damaged St. Vincent’s Academy beyond repair. The Rev. James Tougas, the rector of the cathedral, made room at St. Helena School for the displaced students.

At a 1936 Carroll College commencement, Bishop Joseph Gilmore announced that a co-educational high school would move into St. Helena School. The grade school was remodeled and Cathedral High School opened.

For the next 18 years the grade school and high school students shared the same building. But in 1954, as high school students outgrew the building, construction began on Helena Central High School — the building that now lines 11th Avenue and stands attached to St. Helena School.

[ Two former students have emailed to say that the building, including the 1954 addition, was always known as Cathedral High, not Central High as the article states.] - KB

The name St. Helena School was changed in the 1960s to Bishop Gilmore School. But in 1969, Bishop Raymond Hunthausen announced that both Helena Central High School and Bishop Gilmore School would close at the end of the 1969 school year.

Hunthausen cited increasing financial difficulties as the major reason. Helena Central High School now houses the Cathedral of St. Helena Parish, while the Bishop Gilmore School has sat empty for more than 20 years, its future riding on a decision by the parish.

Helena High School, 1909. Completed in 1893, it was located on the southwest corner of Lawrence and Warren. In 1935, it was replaced by a new High School, which was built on Rodney St. at Helena Avenue.

The building was demolished in the 1970s.

Helena High School pennant, ca. 1915.

Helena High School, 1934

The footprint of the 1893 Helena High School building superimposed on a recent satellite image. Central School is prominent.

The Art Deco 1935 Helena High School, now Helena Middle School. Although brand new, it was severely damaged by the 1935 earthquakes, especially the north end, which included the auditorium. It took two years to repair the building, during which time classes were held in railroad passenger coaches parked near the Northern Pacific Depot.

In 1955, the present High School on Montana Avenue opened, and this became Helena Junior High School.

Exterior earthquake damage to the new High School, Oct. 1935.

Interior quake damage to the new HHS auditorium. The scale of the damage shown here may not be apparent until one notices the rows of seats at the bottom of the photo.

Railroad passenger coaches served as High School classrooms 1935 - 38

Railcar classrooms in the dead of winter, 1935-36. Photo by Gene Goodspeed, class of 1937. COLLECTION OF NANCY GOODSPEED

Railcar classroom interior. Hey, where are all the females?

First aid in the "High School on Wheels", 1935-36. School nurse Ethel M. Dietrick is shown attending to a shin problem. COLLECTION OF NANCY GOODSPEED

Nurse Ethel M. Dietrick tests a pupil's vision in the Home Economics car, 1935-36.
COLLECTION OF NANCY GOODSPEED

Mr. Anderson's reed instruments class in the "High School on Wheels", 1935-36. This wonderful photo by School Nurse Ethel M. Dietrick. COLLECTION OF NANCY GOODSPEED

Students assemble beside the railcars to form the letter "H", 1935-36.
COLLECTION OF NANCY GOODSPEED

Architectural drawing of the current Helena High School, ca. 1953. The somewhat boggy tract of land was once the site of Chinese vegetable gardens.

BRYANT SCHOOL

The first Bryant School, 1529 Boulder Avenue. This building stood from 1885 to 1913, when it was replaced by a building in the Mission style...

The 1913 Bryant School, destroyed by the 1935 earthquakes. A new building, one in a simpler art-deco inspired design, was erected at a cost of about $70,000 (1936 dollars). If you have a good exterior photo of the "new" Bryant School, please let me know.

This wonderful 1947 photo of the Bryant basement cafeteria is courtesy of the Wes and Carol Synness Collection. A higher resolution version of this image is available via email; drop me a line.

Noted Western author Ralph Beer attended Bryant School in the 1950s, and shares these memories...

I have stood in that chow line and waited my turn, along with the other
little savages, as the nice old ladies behind the big counter did their
thing just six or seven years after this photo was taken. The hot lunches
were always wonderful, I thought. Real meat, often hamburger in some sort
of tasty gravy over real mashed spuds and good "commodity" vegetables that
came in big one-or two-gallon shiny cans. The place always smelled GREAT!
And, since I went to fourth grade in a basement room right beside the
cafeteria, I got lots of good nose-hits before lunch even started.

I'm pretty sure we got our milk in paper cartons, though. Hot lunch: 25
cents. Milk, a nickel. Our teacher would collect the lunch money first
thing in the mornings and inspect our grubby paws before we headed down the stairs to get in line.

Bryant was a wonderful little school. I had a couple teachers who were not
first class, but I was very lucky to go through in the Fifties, even though
it was a time when we did those "duck and cover" drills under our desks, and
some of us were afraid of air planes because our Dads had told us all about
bombing Germany into gravel with their B-17s. We were just sure the
Russians were gone to come bomb us, too, although we weren't too sure about just why.

It think this photo touches something right at the heart of those times. Working-class/poor kids, getting a good hot meal that came from a clean kitchen and was cooked by big, heavy ladies and grandmas who lived right there in the Sixth Ward with us. I'm sure I knew younger brothers and sisters of those kids in this photo.

JEFFERSON SCHOOL

The red brick "Old Jeff" elementary school, on the northwest corner of Highland and Dakota, was built in 1891, and was used for Baby Boom student overflow even after the adjacent frame and stucco "New Jeff" was opened in 1949. The old building was demolished in 1971.

The "New Jeff" elementary school, 1023 Broadway, Sept. 7 1951. Opened in 1949, it boasted ramps instead of stairs, air conditioning, varying classroom color schemes (warm colors on the north side, cool colors on the south), tinted windows, recessed fluorescent lighting, lockers in the central corridor, movable desks and chairs, and an "activity alcove" in each classroom. The building was designed by Kalispell, Montana architect Fred A. Brinkman (1883-1970), who also designed Helena's new Broadwater School at 900 Hollins Ave., which likewise opened in 1949. McKinnon-Decker of Helena was the general contractor.CLICK ON PHOTO FOR A LARGER VERSION IN A NEW WINDOW. COURTESY OF KATHRYN FEHLIG

Michael E. Holmes, a student at both schools from 1958-60 remembers Old Jeff....

Old Jeff was remarkable in that it was one of the few tall brick buildings that survived the 1935 earthquake intact. Another feature which none of the students will ever forget is the enclosed three-story spiral fire escape slide mounted to the outside of the building, which on rare occasions (at least annually) students were able to enjoy. It was a joy to ride down, one of the few vivid memories I retain of early elementary school.

That and the old wooden desks and creaky floors in Old Jeff; it oozed 19th century charm and you felt like it was a special place, though a bit spooky. Also, in the winter climbing up and down "the hill" without sliding down or slipping was a challenge, particularly if it got icy.

They don't build them like that any more. Shame.

The footprint of the old Jefferson School superimposed on a recent satellite view of the site. Note that the footprint of the new building compliments that of the old, even though they are of vastly different styles.

Founded in 1909 as Mount St. Charles College, Carroll College it was renamed in 1932 to honor its founder, Bishop John P. Carroll (1864-1925).

Aerial photo of Carroll College, probably 1930s.

Carroll College campus, 1940s.

"CARROLL VILLAGE" - POSTWAR HOUSING

Immediately following World War II, Carroll saw a dramatic increase in the enrollment of married students. Housing was found for them in Vancouver Washington., where the Federal Public Housing Administration was in the process of dismantling projects which had housed wartime shipyard workers.

THE FOOTPRINT OF CARROLL VILLAGE SUPERIMPOSED ON A RECENT SATELLITE VIEW

Five buildings, each containing four four-room apartments (which were likely from Vancouver's Burton Homes project) were shipped to Helena and rebuilt by the Carson Construction Co. on College-owned land near the intersection of Euclid and Harrison Ave., where the Lundy Center is now. It was dubbed "Carroll Village".

On the right can be seen several "Carroll Village" units. This view taken from Harrison St., Easter 1962.
COURTESY OF CATHEE CRAPO

Carroll College, 1960s.

The Carroll campus, 1970s.

Kessler School, west of Helena in the Kenwood Addition,1980s. It was named for beloved Helena brewmaster and brickmaker Nicholas Kessler (1833 - 1905). This is the 1930s building, which as seen several additions and renovations over the years. It's notable in this view that more than half of the original tall windows have been covered over or removed.
COLLECTION OF KENNON BAIRD

Southwest corner of Kessler School, 1980s. There was once a pint-sized baseball diamond located just to the left of this view. COLLECTION OF KENNON BAIRD

Kessler School classroom, ca. 2000

Helena Junior High School cafeteria, 1970. COLLECTION OF KENNON BAIRD

This building on 11th Avenue was originally the second Mills Hall, part of Intermountain Union College. It was acquired by Intermountain Children's Homes and Services after the 1935 earthquakes destroyed the original Deaconess Home in the Helena Valley. This building served as the Deaconess Home until 1970, when the current South Lamborn St. facility opened.