Occupying 140 acres, Forestvale Cemetery remains in use today, and likely will for many years to come. Designed by Vermont native Harry Vespasian Wheeler, a civil engineer, the cemetery was envisioned as a "Rural Cemetery", a style coming into vogue in the nineteenth century. Where once there was a lake, part of the design and one of two in the original design, there are now graves. The curved pathways, though, still meander through cemetery. Old photos of the cemetery seem to indicate that it was graced with many more and larger trees in years gone by. There seems to have been many large deciduous trees, most now gone.
When Forestvale Cemetery opened, many of the prominent citizens of Helena already interred at Benton Avenue Cemetery were reinterred here, as their families felt that Forestvale Cemetery, a planned and landscape architect designed cemetery was more befitting of their standing in the community. Reinterments came not only from Benton Avenue, but, also from the abandoned Catholic Cemetery south of the State Capitol, City Cemetery behind Central School, Catholic Cemetery on Oakes, Mountain Home Cemetery, several ranches in the Helena area, other towns in Montana, and from Beaver Creek when Canyon Ferry Reservoir flooded the area. In total, over 400 reinterments took place at Forestvale in the early years.
The large stone archway over the main entrance was constructed at the time the cemetery was established in 1890, originally with the words
The Helena Cemetery cut in the stones at the top of the arch. The cemetery was renamed Forestvale in 1901, but it is no longer clear whether the name on the arch was changed at that time or when repairs were undertaken in 1936, after the
earthquakes of 1935. Originally having castellations across the top, these have been removed and in their place is the word
FORESTVALE in wrought iron.
An office was erected during the 1890s but was used for only a few short years, then neglected to the point that it was ultimately torn down. In front of the office was a large fountain, that, too, now gone, moved to the Shodair Hospital in Helena.
Below is the plan of the cemetery.
FORESTVALE
This cemetery was established in May 1890 and consists of 148 acres, with about 40 acres developed. There are over 14,000 individuals buried here. FORESTVALE has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places and is the final resting place of more Montana pioneers than anywhere else in Montana.
You will find the graves of families that represent these pioneers who came to this territory after 1860 and developed this part of Montana as miners, businessmen, bankers, stockmen, and even gamblers. They came from all parts of the world. Their monuments exemplify the social stratification of early Helena, from the simple to the elaborate.
FORESTVALE came into public ownership in April 1991. There was never any prejudice as to creed or color. It was designated as a "Rural Park", a place to walk through Montana history.
Please keep its tranquility while you visit.
From the hand lettered marker at the cemetery
Forestvale Cemetery
Founded in 1890 as the Helena Cemetery, Forestvale Cemetery occupies 150 acres (according to current tax records) in the Helena Valley. The name was changed to Forestvale in 1901.
There are over 14,000 individuals buried at Forestvale, including many notable Montana pioneers. It is also the final resting place of motion picture star Myrna (Williams) Loy, a Helena native.
In 1888, there were three public cemeteries in Helena, all of which were owned and operated by religious organizations: a Catholic cemetery, Jewish cemetery and the Benton Avenue Cemetery, which was generally populated by Protestants. As the city of Helena was expanding rapidly, growing from a population of 3,000 in 1880 to over 13,000 in one decade, the city government recognized the need for additional burial space outside of the city limits. During the summer of 1889, a group of Helena investors began to investigate suitable sites of the establishment of a new cemetery, and purchased 140 acres located about 2-1/2 miles from town, for $3500 from Charles C. Colber and his wife.
Forestvale was designed by Vermont native Harry Vespasian Wheeler (1850-?), a civil engineer working in Montana. He also laid out Missoula's City Cemetery in the 1880s. Forestvale's design, featuring curving roads, a water feature, and abundant plantings, was part of the "garden cemetery" or "rural cemetery" movement of the 19th Century.
Only one lake of the two proposed was dug; it has been dry since about 1920, and in the 1930s was given over to burials. It was informally called the Sunken Garden, and is now known as the Arbor Garden section. Also never constructed was the chapel, meant to be next to the receiving vault, near the main gate.
A small stone building located just inside the cemetery grounds was built during the 1890s as a receiving vault to store bodies during the winter months until the ground thawed and allowed for burial. In 1930, three crypts were added to the interior of the building. The heavily rusticated, uncoursed stone bearing walls feature five buttresses on each side. The arched entry has double metal doors hung on exaggerated strap hinges. On November 8, 1891, James E. Binford, from Marysville, was the first person recorded to have been placed in the vault. He is buried in the Glendale section of the cemetery.
From the NRHP Nomination Form