National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form: African-American Heritage Places in Helena, MT

Hagen, Delia

A National Register of Historic Places Property Documentation Form for African-American Heritage Places in Helena, Montana. Associated Property Types and Registration Requirements introduction: "There are three primary property types associated with Helena's African-American history. Together, they encompass much of that community's activities, its life, labors, passions and priorities in the period between ca. 1862 to 1970, the period of significance. That era encompassed three distinct periods of development that frame the historic contexts identified in this MPD, ie. Helen's Early African-American Community, ca. 1862 to 1877; The Heyday of Helena's African-American Community, ca. 1877 to 1910; and Decline and Endurance of Helena's African-American Community, ca. 1910-1970. The living and working conditions and the group activities and associations of the local black community discussed in these contexts are the basis of the property types outlined below, i.e. properties associated with African-American organizations or institutions; properties associated with the commercial or economic lives of the black community; and residential properties that housed community members. Criterion is the primary relevant criterion for most of the properties in these three categories. Together, these three property types provide a physical foundation for understanding the evolution of black Helena. But although these broad categories encompass most resources historically associated with the community, extant resources are rare and do not tell the full story of Helena's African-American community and its architectural development. Many individual buildings have been lost, and entire neighborhoods associated with the local black community have been razed, including large sections of the south end of the downtown commercial district, combined commercial-residential districts like Clore Street (also the center of black nightlife), and nearby residential neighborhoods around State Street. These lost areas were where much of black Helena life happened, and where significant events took place that sometimes crystallized themes in local black history." Project funding was provided in part by a Historic Preservation Fund grant to the Montana State Historic Preservation Office, Montana Historical Society, administered by the State, Tribal, Local Plans and Grants division, National Park Service, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior (grant number P17AF00012).

National Register of Historic Places Multiple Property Documentation Form: African-American Heritage Places in Helena, MT

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