St. Louis-born George Booker struck out on his own at 13, followed gold rushes to Pike’s Peak and Alder Gulch, and settled in Helena in 1866. A resonant voice and unfailing good humor brought Booker tremendous popularity as an auctioneer. From 1875, Booker devoted his career to Masonry, serving as secretary of Masonic bodies in Helena and as state recorder of the Algeria Temple. Booker and his wife, Mattie, purchased this property in 1873. Circa 1890, the Bookers built the present two-story brick home, likely incorporating the foundation of their first one-story frame residence into this more substantial dwelling. Its windows with stone sills, arched hood moldings, and delicately stenciled wooden infills are characteristic of Helena’s early architecture. Lovely Queen Anne style stained glass reflects the Victorian era. When Booker died in 1914, all of Helena paused to mourn the passing of the much-loved pioneer, who “would give his last cent to those in want.”
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