Praised for lending "an air of distinction" to "one of the handsomest residence streets in Helena," this three-story Queen Anne style home was constructed for George and Eva Tracy. The house was completed just prior to the calamitous economic collapse known as the Panic of 1893. The large front porch, bay windows, a three-story tower, and Palladian windows in the gable ends distinguish the prominent residence, which reflects the Tracy's financial success in the wholesale food distribution business. Widowed in 1907, Eva continued to occupy the home until 1912 when she sold it to Sarah E. Power, sister to U.S. Senator T. C. Power and major donor to Helena’s charities. In 1920, Jos. E. Bower of the Bower Brothers Sheep Company purchased the property. His wife, Leonora, another leading Helena philanthropist, remained here until her death in 1954. A year later, Thomas C. Power, grand-nephew of Senator T. C. Power and Sarah Power purchased the home, which he occupied until 2004. The home's former residents reflect Montana’s rich Gilded Age history, and the house stands as a handsome reminder of Helena’s nineteenth-century wealth and promise.
Images
