Reeder’s Alley

Reeder’s Alley is the oldest neighborhood in Helena.  The oldest permanent structure in Helena—the so-called Pioneer Cabin—is just outside the entrance to the brick-paved street that curves up through Reeder’s Alley at the base of Mount Helena.   Small red brick shops and apartments line the narrow street.

Pioneer cabin was constructed in 1864 by Wilson Butts, one of the first prospectors to arrive at Last Chance Gulch following the discovery of gold that same year.  He constructed his cabin little more than a stone-throw from the gulch that would eventually provide $19 million worth of gold in four years—the second largest placer find in Montana.  The mining camp that eventually became Helena, Montana soon grew around the small cabin.

Louis Reeder, a skilled builder from Pennsylvania, arrived in the mining camp in 1867.  Keen to advantage opportunity, Mr. Reeder began constructing small but sturdy stone and brick apartments and bunkhouses in what was then mostly a tent and shanty camp.  He wisely built his neighborhood next to the Butts cabin on stable ground just above the raucous and ever-changing placer-works.

My own ancestors (seeking fortune in the gold mining camps) arrived in the Helena area at the same time as Louis Reeder.  They ended up settling near Marysville, just a few miles northwest of Helena, and worked underground.   I think about all of that history every time I walk through Reeder’s Alley.

Yesterday, I went to Reeder’s Alley to see my friend Dundee.  She operates a barber shop in one of the small street-side buildings.  Her business sign is at the center of the photograph I posted today.   I captured the picture with my much-smarter-than-me phone.   The street was spring-warm and the light breeze sweeping up through the trees smelled earthy and vital.  The day felt old and young at once.

--Mitchell Hegman