Begun in 1889 by Sisters of the Good Shepherd from St. Paul, Minnesota, the convent was built to house troubled girls and young women. In all, the convent consisted of three brick buildings and a wood framed building. By 1890 demand was such that the dormitory was built to house the growing number of girls in the sisters' care. The dormitory also served as the school and, later, a commercial laundry was established in the basement, both to provide income for the convent and to provide job training for the girls. By 1900 nine sisters of the convent were caring for 27 girls and women aged 8 to 36.
The only wood framed building in the complex, the dormitory was built in 1890 and immediately also housed the convent's school. The school and living quarters were upstairs, while the kitchen was located in the basement. At various time when the convent was housing more girls than the school room could accommodate, classes were also held in the basement. At the time that the complex's church opened there was no priest so it was handled by Father Charles G. Follet, principal at St. Aloysius Select School for boys, who also taught the higher classes at the school.
This convent remained in operation only until 1909, at which time the sisters moved to a larger operation on the west side of the city. That continued in operation until its closure in 1967, by which time the sisters had cared for 2,700 girls during their 78 year tenure in Helena.
This convent complex was sold when the sisters vacated it, the dormitory initially becoming a furniture warehouse, later an artist's studio. It appears to have been still later turned into apartments.
The dormitory is a wood frame building built in 1890. An early photograph depicts a plain rectangular block with a central projecting porch, capped with a hipped roof and wide eaves. Through a series of historic additions, the primary entrance once placed on the north now opens on the east, and the building has been greatly modified. Because of the large number of girls who requested to live at the House of the Good Shepherd, the demand for space grew rapidly.
The first addition was built in 1892, only two years after the school opened. This addition was two stories and was added onto the southwest corner of the building. The basement was fully expanded as well to match the upstairs expansion. In 1894, another two-story addition was built to the north of the first expansion. A porch was added on the north side of the original building; it was removed in 1911. Again at this time, the basement was fully expanded.
In 1896, another two-story addition was added to the west of the first two expansions. The porch was enclosed, and the basement was enlarged. The last two-story and basement expansions were added in 1903. After the Good Shepherd moved to its new location in 1909, the building was used for furniture storage. The primary entrance was moved the east side, and a vehicle ramp was added to the north façade in 1911, and in 1966 stairs were added to the loading ramp.
The foundation is of stone, and the building is entirely stuccoed except for the north side where the original clapboard siding remains. The main door is accessed by a short flight of wooden stairs, and a pair of glazed wooden doors with narrow sidelights forms the entrance. The entry is framed with rough-sawn timber.
Directly above, the wooden loading doors open to access the second story, and slender double-hung doors fill the window opening. Window units are arranged 1-over-l. The building is now covered with a hipped roof with corrugated metal roofing, and a tall brick chimney stack rises along the southeast corner. The one-story addition at the northeast corner toward the street was used as a loading entrance. The addition is covered with a gable roof and holds a pair of swinging wooden garage doors. The upper north side is covered with clapboard.
An original sink and spigots are located on the first floor, and another is located in the upper sleeping quarters. Also upstairs in the dorm, there are original boards that line the walls, and it is assumed the girls used them to hang their clothes. Some original stencils are visible on the ceiling in the upper room at the west end of the dormitory. A blackboard used to hang here, and this room was probably used as a classroom.
From the NRHP Registration Form