Montana Historical Society, Helena [957-608]

J.P. Ball & Son

The black population of western cities was much smaller than that of cities in the Northeast and South. Commentators noted the lack of overt racism in smaller cities like Tacoma, Washington, and Helena, Montana. Helena's African-American community dates to the 1860s. Yet by 1920 it claimed only 220 black residents. Like black communities in other cities, the church was at the center of its social and political life. The Saint James African Methodist Episcopal Church organized a literary society, a library, and a ladies benevolent society.