Filed Under Helena

Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House

Ferdinand and Caroline Wassweiler settled here in 1865 on 160 acres, operating a small hotel and bathhouse near this site. They gained title to the land and two hot water springs near Ten Mile Creek in 1869. The mineral water offered area miners a welcome respite from the dusty gold mining camp at Last Chance Gulch. In need of cash, the Wassweilers mortgaged half their property for $1,500 in “fine bankable gold dust,” paying up in 1872. Again short of funds, the Wassweilers sold their hotel and water rights in 1874 to Colonel Charles Broadwater. Broadwater ran the hotel until 1889 when his new hotel and natatorium opened on the property. All traces of Wassweiler’s first hotel and the Broadwater Hotel have since vanished. Wassweiler built this second hotel on his remaining 80 acres in 1883. These are the only hot springs hotel structures now left in the Helena area. The walls of the main building are brick resting on fieldstone. Seven exterior doors to separate rooms accommodated the hotel guests, and four brick chimneys, vented for woodstoves, pierce the gabled rooflines. The outbuilding of native fieldstone served as the bathhouse, with each of four compartments outfitted with wooden tubs. The Wassweiler Hotel and Bathhouse continued to operate until 1904.

Images

Wassweiler
Wassweiler Facade Source: Montana Historical Society Creator: Bryan Baldwin Date: August 12, 2022
Wassweiler
Wassweiler Facade 2 Source: Montana Historical Society Creator: Bryan Baldwin Date: August 12, 2022
Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House
Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House. Rear view of the hotel building, facing east to southeast. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Photographer unidentified Date: Date unknown
Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House
Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House. Front to side view of the hotel building, facing west to northwest. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Photographer unidentified Date: Date unknown
Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House
Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House. Side view of the hotel building, facing south to southwest. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Photographer unidentified Date: Date unknown
Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House
Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House. Front to side view of the bath houses, facing west to northwest. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Photographer unidentified Date: Date unknown
Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House
Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House. Side view of the bath houses, facing north to northwest. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Photographer unidentified Date: Date unknown
Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House
Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House. Overview of the hotel building and bath houses, facing west from Highway 12 West. Source: Montana State Historic Preservation Office Creator: Photographer unidentified Date: Date unknown

Location

4528 Highway 12 West, Helena, Montana | Private

Metadata

The Montana National Register Sign Program, “Wassweiler Hotel and Bath House,” Historic Montana, accessed March 29, 2024, https://historicmt.org/items/show/821.