kenneth r. penhale city of helena museum

Traveling to downtown Helena's museum is a gentle and unique experience. You encounter Ken Penhale, Helena's Town Historian for whom it was named and he personally will lead you on the tour himself. You learn so much of the history of the town and its inhabitants. You see so many mining memorabilia as well as pictures galore of its people, most of these were donated by Helena's first families. Most noted is the wall of it's military personnel who went off to fight in the various wars too. Indian arrowheads are lined in cases and you can see them well. There is no elevator as of yet so be prepared to mount the steps outside to the second floor of the museum. There is much to be seen and experience in this quaint museum. Ken is a born storyteller and it shows in the details of this fine small town museum.

Helena was born from coal and steel. The complex mining system still remains under this beautiful city; however, mining is no longer an active endeavor. Subsequent to the coal and steel the railroads identified a new stop in Helena, named after the station master's daughter. The museaum has collected a detailed number of period located in the old Masonic Hall. The only problem is it is not situated for the physicaly disabled and parking is poor. Operated by volunteers it's a shame the city, county, or state offer no support funding. These artifacts are everyone's legacy and should be preserved.

I was in town for some business and passed by this small museum. Though it didn't appear to be open, I called the phone number listed and the man who answered agreed to open up the building for me. He said it's normally open just on the weekends.Currently the museum consists only of the upstairs room of the building. According to the curator, the first floor should be finished sometime in the next few months.The best part of the museum is the photo collection. There are some amazing photos of historic Helena. Also upstairs are lots of small artifacts from the mining industry in the area, the railroads, schools, stores, and local residents.If you're in Helena, stop by. It's small, but lots of neat things to see.