MONTANA STATE CAPITOL - HELENA



The Montana State Capitol in Helena, MT

We arrived early in Helena after our stop in Butte so we had plenty of time to visit the State Capitol in Helena. Construction of the Capitol began in 1896 and was completed in 1902. Montana's government outgrew it quickly so wing-annexes were added with their construction completed in 1912.

The dome is covered in copper with a statue known as the Goddess of Liberty standing atop it. The statue of a man on horseback in front of the Capitol Building is of Thomas Francis Meagher, an Irish revolutionary who served as an officer during several important battles of the U.S. Civil War and as Territorial Governor of Montana.



Inside the Capitol are the offices of the Governor, both houses of the State Legislature and the State Supreme Court. There are also many works of art featuring important figures in Montana's history. The Rotunda is surrounded by four circular paintings depicting four symbollic characters of early Montana history -- a Native American chief, a prospector, a cowboy, and a trapper. There are also statues of Jeanette Rankin, the first woman elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, and Mike Mansfield, a longtime senator in the Montana State Legislature.