Kessler Brewery, ca 1890. Founded in 1868 by German-born Nicholas Kessler (1833-1905). Located just west of Spring Meadow Lake.

By all accounts, Kessler was an exceptionally friendly, true and honest man, and his death was widely mourned. Kessler also operated a brickyard near the brewery, and in this way helped to build the city of Helena.

In 2001, the 1860s Kessler mansion, located near the brewery, was heavily damaged by a fire caused by a child playing with fireworks in an adjacent barn, which was also destroyed.

Looking west from Mount Helena toward Fort Harrison, August 14, 1941. The woman is Hazel Kilmer, who in a few months would join the Women's Army Corps, serving as a parachute rigger in England.
COURTESY OF TOM KILMER

The Fort was built from 1894 to 1896. In 1895, a detachment of the Hospital Corps from Fort Assinboine south of Havre and several small military posts, which were scheduled to close in the Dakotas, began training at the post. The Montana National Guard began utilizing Fort Harrison for training in 1911, after abandoning Fort Ellis near Bozeman.

Fort Harrison was abandoned and left in the charge of a caretaker by the U.S. Army in 1913. The Montana National Guard occupied the Fort in September 1915, beginning the development of the military post we see today. In June 1916, the Montana National Guard was notified by the War Department to mobilize to guard the U.S./Mexican border. With the start of World War I, the Guard was again trained and mobilized in 1917 to protect major railroad and industrial facilities, until they could be dispatched to eastern camps and eventually overseas. After World War I, the Fort became a Public Health Service hospital and eventually a Veterans Administration medical facility (No. 72). During the first years, it was designated as a tuberculosis hospital and expanded to 300 beds. In 1925, the designation was changed to a general medical and surgical hospital.

After the October 1935 earthquakes that rocked the Helena area, the hospital facility was closed and the patients transferred to facilities in Washington and Oregon. The Hospital facility was reopened in 1937. The Guard continued to use the reservation for training after the earthquake.

During the Second World War, the U.S. Army assumed control of the facility and used it for very new and distinctive military units. These units included the First Special Service Force, the 474th Quartermaster Truck Regiment and the War Dog Training Center (Camp Rimini).

Fist Special Service Force Patch

Since 1947, the Fort has been used for training by numerous active and inactive combats, support and combat service support units. Numerous major improvements and increased training facilities were completed at Fort Harrison in 2001.

Fort Harrison is the site of the Montana State Veterans Cemetery, and the home of the Montana Military Museum.

Helena Sand and Gravel had its beginnings in 1929, partially a result of the catastrophic 1928 downtown Helena fire. George Jacoby, son of Charles Jacoby (a 2nd generation contractor, Frank Jacoby and Son) saw the need for clean aggregates for construction and railroad ballast in Montana. He bought 36 acres of tax title gravel land two miles west of Helena, which included the old stone John Stedman Foundry and Machine Company buildings, and utilized the Jacoby Speeder shovel (used in the reconstruction of downtown) to dig for gravel. The resulting pit opened up underground springs, and it soon became an expanding lake.

Helena Sand and Gravel also delivered ready-mixed concrete, and were involved in large building projects in the Helena area. In 1951 Jacoby got into the street paving business with the addition of an Amalga-Pave cold mix asphalt facility.

Jacoby retired in 1955, selling the business to W.A. "Bill" Carson who further carved out the channels and islands of the lake. Carson died in 1964, by which time the gravel had run out. A real estate developer planned to build condos on the site, and called it “Spring Meadow”, but the project was never carried out.

In the early 1980s the State of Montana purchased the property for a State Park. Remnants of the old Helena Sand and Gravel plant, and the earlier Stedman Foundry - the future home of the Montana Wildlife Center - can still be seen.

These beautiful photographs are from the collection of artist and graphic designer Kathryn Fehlig, granddaughter of George Jacoby. Many thanks to Kathy for sharing these wonderful images!

A Jacoby family portrait from about 1922, taken near Lincoln, Montana. Left to right: Charles Jacoby, Frank Jacoby, Dorothy Ann Jacoby, and George Jacoby.

Frank Jacoby was the pioneer, arriving in Helena before 1878. He was a carpenter and formed a company with his son, Charles, called "Frank Jacoby and Son." In 1915 Charles formed a partnership with his brother Frank under the same name. George Jacoby worked for the firm until forming his own business in 1929 (Helena Sand and Gravel).

Frank Jacoby and Son built many buildings in Helena during the first half of the 20th century,
including St. Johns Hospital, the YWCA, the old Western Life building, Shodair Hospital, Colorado Building, LaLonde Block, Granite Block, 7th Avenue Gym, and Carroll College.

View from the hoist, showing material traveling up the 20-inch conveyor belt to the washer. At the right is the six-inch water pipe running from the pump house to the washer. In the background on the right can be seen the old Kessler School, which was demolished after the 1935 earthquakes.