Wick-Seiler Residence

Richard Hoback and C. W. Cannon platted this area from a dwindling placer claim called the California Bar. The Hoback-Cannon Addition is today the eastern gateway to Helena’s historic neighborhoods. This Italianate style residence, built circa 1888, was home to German-born John Wick and his wife Mina by 1898.

Wick settled in Helena during the 1870s. Fire destroyed his carriage shop in 1884 and Wick became a well-known saloon proprietor. In 1901, the Wicks’ daughter Elizabeth married Arthur Seiler, a young German immigrant who came to Helena in 1888 intending to work for an uncle. Prior to his arrival, the uncle mysteriously disappeared and was presumed dead.

Helena’s German community took Seiler under its wing. As apprentice to candy maker Frank Hepperdiezel, Seiler learned that trade. In time his delicious confections became widely renowned. The Seiler children, Bernice and Arthur, Jr., grew up here. They found a playmate in neighbor and future film legend Gary Cooper whose birthplace is directly across Eleventh Avenue.

During one escapade, Bernice recalled that Cooper was seriously injured in a fall from the Seilers’ wrought iron fence. The Seilers converted the residence to a duplex during the Great Depression and retained ownership until 1957. Following the example of their parents and grandparents, Bernice and Arthur, Jr., maintained their Helena roots, contributing significantly to the community.

This neighborhood landmark, again a single family residence, illustrates local architectural trends. Tall arched windows and stenciled inserts are typical of the 1880s while stuccoed brick and Craftsman-inspired porches reflect the 1930s. Inside, eleven-foot ceilings and bull’s eye woodwork recall nineteenth-century elegance.