In 1869, a small contingent of the Sisters of Charity journeyed to Helena by rail and stagecoach from their motherhouse at Leavenworth, Kansas. The sisters established a hospital, schools, and an orphanage atop this rise dominated by Helena’s first cathedral. Brick replaced frame on Catholic Hill during the 1880s, and by the early 1890s, the boys of St. Aloysius Select School filled these spacious classrooms. The school closed in 1910, and student nurses of St. John’s Hospital then took their classes here. Renovation in 1925 added a small auditorium, upstairs dormitory, and receiving parlor. It was then rechristened Immaculata Hall. After the 1935 earthquakes, only this school and the hospital laundry were left standing on Catholic Hill. Carroll College continued to use the facility until 1972, but tenants dwindled and this historic landmark was condemned and heavily vandalized. New owners literally rescued the building from the wrecking ball. They refurbished it, converted the dormitory to office space, and recruited tenants. In 1992, children once again filled its classrooms.
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