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The Nearly Forgotten Blacks On Last Chance Gulch, 1900-1912, William L. Lang

History Faculty Publications and Presentations

Contemporary residents of the state capital of Montana are usually surprised to learn that at one time over 400 Afro-Americans made their homes in the city. A boomer mining camp in the 1860s, a financial and transportation center by the 1870s, the seat of territorial and state government. and reputedly the richest city per capita in the nation in 1911, Helena has a colorful past that is familiar to many; but few people know about the blacks on Last Chance Gulch. This essay examines the development of Helena's Afro-American community during the prosperous years after the turn of the century.