What Is the Temple Emanu-el?
This was the first Jewish temple in Montana and the Rocky Mountains, now operated by the Catholic Church!
What Makes It Historical?
The Montana gold rush of 1862 brought folks flocking to Big Sky Country from other parts of the world. Among them were Jewish craftsmen and merchants, some of whom set up the United Hebrew Benevolent Society in Helena around 1866! Within Helena, they made up an important part of daily life, but in town, they had neither a place to worship nor even a rabbi to support their spiritual needs!
The first rabbi to reach Helena was German-educated Rabbi Samuel Schulmann, and with him leading the congregation, construction on a new temple began in October of 1890! It was a work of cooperation, designed by non-Jewish architects, Fred Heinlein & Thomas Mathias, that followed Romanesque styling, and it opened in April of 1891!
It was a beautiful few years before Rabbi Schulmann moved to Kansas City and the Panic of 1893 led to hardships within the community. By the Great Depression, the congregation could no longer afford to maintain the temple or find anyone to buy it, turning it over to the state for $1. The state obliterated most of its religious symbols and turned the building into offices for the Department of Public Welfare, whose mission was to address the other casualties of the Depression! The building remained a government office until 1976, a storage site for the Montana Historical Society until 1981, and today houses offices for the Catholic Diocese of Helena!
How Can I #HelpTheHelpers?
- Become a member of the Montana Historical Society!
- Donate to the Diocese of Helena!
- Be a responsible visitor! Please respect the signs and pathways, and treat all structures and artifacts with respect. They’ve endured a lot to survive into the present. They’ll need our help to make it into the future!
How Do I Get There?
530 N. Ewing St
Helena, MT 59601
(Take Me There!)
When Should I Visit?
Office hours are Monday through Friday from 8:00 AM until 4:30 PM!