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Helena owes its existence to the 1864 discovery of gold by four prospectors in Last Chance Gulch, which is now Helena's main street. An overnight boom town, Helena’s Last Chance Gulch produced an estimated $3.6 billion in gold (in today's dollars) over a 20-year period. By 1888, an estimated 50 millionaires called Helena home, reputedly more per capita than anywhere in the U.S. at the time.
In 1875, a fight for location of the state capitol pitted two copper kings against each other - Marcus Daly of Anaconda and William A. Clark, who supported Helena. Helena won, and in October 1898, ground was broken for the state capitol building. Today, the downtown area of the capital city is situated on the sides of a gulch with the capitol on the upper east side and parts of the city perched on surrounding hillsides. A thriving, conservative-thinking political center, Helena’s quick-wealth, mining legacy lives on in the city’s architecture and the opulent mansions of Ewing Street.
Just eight miles from the Continental Divide, the city overlooks Helena Valley and is surrounded by mountains and the Helena National Forest. The dry, arid climate of the Rockies’ east side makes the area prime for outdoor recreation. Mount Helena City Park gives mountain bikers and hikers immediate access to trails and beautiful scenery. The mighty Missouri River that brought Lewis and Clark through Helena flows northeast with a series of dams forming lakes and reservoirs that provide outstanding opportunities for boating and fishing. The 129,000-acre Elkhorn Wildlife Management Area is home to many species of indigenous wildlife and big game.
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