Lewis and Clark County Hospital Historic District
historic district in Montana, United States
The Lewis and Clark County Hospital Historic District is a historic district in Helena, Lewis and Clark County, Montana. It has also been known as "Cooney Convalescent Home", "Miner's Hospital", "Poor Farm", and "Old Cooney Home". There are seven buildings and a garden on the property; four buildings and the garden are part of the historic district: the hospital, detention hospital, shed, superintendent's residence, and garden. The non-contributing buildings are the modern garage, concrete garage, and ambulance garage.
History
Public hospital care in Lewis and Clark County began with the Miner's Hospital in 1866. Until 1885, public medical care occurred at several locations and via multiple funding mechanisms, including a "Poor Farm" where people grew their own food. The current location came into use in 1885 when a new hospital was built on the current site, designed by M. Bakker. In 1891 it became known as the Lewis and Clark County Hospital, with a focus on providing care for those who could not afford a private hospital, which was a major problem in the days before Social Security, especially for those without children to provide assistance. Expansion of the building occurred in the early 1890s and again in 1899, when architect Charles S. Haire designed new wings.
From the 1880s to the 1920s, records show that more than 350 people were buried on this site in a county cemetery, although the markers are long gone and the exact location of the cemetery is unknown.
The public source identifies “Lewis and Clark County Hospital Historic District” as historic district in Montana, United States. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Lewis, Clark and County.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Lewis and Clark County Hospital Historic District”, the useful work is to connect “historic district in Montana, United States” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 6, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6537209. Authority coordinates are 46.622, -112.037. 1 of 1 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1866, 1885, 1891 and 1899.
A single description cannot reconcile every naming convention, rebuilding phase or administrative transfer associated with a place. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Lewis and Clark County Hospital Historic District”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Lewis and Clark County Hospital Historic District primary sources, Lewis and Clark County Hospital Historic District archive and Lewis research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
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Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Lewis and Clark County Hospital Historic District” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.